Princess Tomboy
by ohmygodthecringe
Summary: Akari Hamasaki thinks, acts, looks, talks, and dresses like a guy. Being a tomboy her entire life, she is immediately mistaken as a boy when transferred to Ouran with her three older brothers. When she joins the Host Club, she and her twin brother Arashi become popular. When the Hosts find out that she's a girl, will they help her embrace her girly side? Will she fall in love? OCx?
1. Chapter 1

Dear Diary,

Today was the best day ever! So here's what happened.

As I've written in my previous entries, my three older brothers and I were able to convince our father to allow us to attend public school for two years. I mean, it'd be sad if we've never attended an actual high school at least _once_ in our lives. Unfortunately, we found out today that we were attending some prestigious private school reserved only for the very elite. The school is called "Ouran Academy" or something. Going to an expensive private school already bummed us out; we wanted to go to a _normal_ high school full of _normal_ people. We didn't want to hang around with a bunch of rich jerks! Well, we're rich too but at least we're not jerks. Right? Ugh. Why am I asking you Diary, you're nothing but a notebook. Anyways, the guy uniforms were so-so, but the _girl_ uniforms were outrageous! The poor(well, rich) girls looked like some old granny dressed them up in the dark. I almost wanted to cry for them! It was a good thing my brothers let me get the male uniform too, they wouldn't allow their only younger sister prancing around in _that_ monstrosity.

After registering, my two older brothers went on their way while Arashi and I went ours. Arashi and I are in the same class, Class 2A. I think Haku and Osamu are in the same class together(Haku is the oldest, being two years older than me and Osamu is only one year older). After we entered and sat down in the front row of desks, right away people started chatting with us, fascinated that we were identical. I did most of the chatting as usual, while Arashi sat emotionlessly listening to his music. A lot of girls swooned over him, saying that he reminded them of a guy named Mori Senpai.

In almost every conversation, something called a "Host Club" was mentioned. I found out from a group of girls that it was basically a club where a bunch of good-looking young men entertained young ladies and cosplayed sometimes. I really wanted to join actually, it sounded like a lot of fun! I didn't notice that two boys at the back of the class were watching my brother and I. Then, one of the girls (blushing) told me that she thought I'd make a good host. I gave her a dazzling smile(which my eldest brother, Haku the flirt) taught me, and then I purred at her saying; "Really? If you say something as cute as that, I just might start falling for you." Then, I gave her the classic wink. Not only did her blush deepen, but she and a bunch of other girls had a fangirl meltdown. I had to grin widely to stifle my laugh. It was hilarious! Of course Arashi had no idea what was going on, he was listening to his headphones. I didn't notice footsteps approaching, and soon enough a friendly voice approached me.

"Hello, I am Tamaki Suoh, the King of the Ouran High school Host Club." He was tall, blonde, and quite flamboyant. He immediately struck me as the prince type. I of course, cheerfully smiled and introduced myself as well.

"Nice to meet you, your Highness. My name is Akari Hamasaki, and this is my twin brother Arashi." My voice and smile was sincere, he seemed like a nice person.

Upon hearing the words, "your highness," he smiled brightly and happily clapped.

"Did you hear that Kyoya! He called me 'your highness!' Finally someone acknowledges my royal status!"

I turned over to see a tall, raven-haired boy with glasses. He wore a cool smile on his face, but his eyes reflected annoyance. Me calling the blonde "your highness" probably boosted his self esteem a little too much. Glasses then spoke.

"I'm Kyoya Ootori, the manager of the Host Club. We noticed your earlier conversation with the young ladies, and we would like to make a proposal."

I slightly tilted my head to the side. Then, I quickly slapped my brother's shoulder with the back of my hand, snapping him back to reality. He pulled out his earbuds and looked at me with a bored expression on his face. I pointed eyes toward the two boys, and he turned his head. We both looked at the boys now. The King spoke.

"How would you two like to join the Host Club! You're obviously charming and handsome enough."

I smiled. I was hoping he was going to ask that.

"I'll join! It sure sounds like a lot of fun based on what I've heard. Do we really get to dress up?" I stared up at him with sparkling eyes, _very_ excited.

"Yes, and not to mention," he gently pulled a nearby girl from the group who had been listening as well, and tilted her face towards his.

"You get to spend time with many beautiful princesses." The girl's face immediately flushed, and the fangirl meltdown happened again.

I elbowed my brother, glancing at him from the side.

"Cool," he said in a bored tone, then started listening to his music again.

"Arashi wants in too!" I was grinning up at the two guys.

"Perfect! Meet us after school in the Third Music Room. And don't be late!"

After we had finished talking to them, I kept feeling like glasses kept looking at me and my brother. I shrugged it off though, it wasn't much of a big deal.

By the time class started, everyone assumed I was a dude. Which wasn't surprising, even when I had waist length hair people _still_ thought I was a guy. It was probably because I didn't have huge eyes or long lashes...Also maybe because I'm super tall and...well...flat-chested. Literally, I have nothing. My brother and I basically had identical, lanky bodies. The only difference was he had broader shoulders than me. I noticed a lot of people referred to my brother and I as the "Hamasaki brothers." After school, my two older brothers went to some other club they were asked to join, and Arashi and I started heading towards where the host club was. On the way there, I never shut up about how fun it was going to be. I chatted on, and on, and on. I hadn't been around this many new people since Elementary school. I didn't care about how spoiled or shallow some of the students were, because there was always other students who were nice or interesting. I just loved being around people! I could finally make more friends! I had been wearing a huge grin on my face the whole walk to the club. After climbing up the stairs, and arriving in front of tall doors with a sign labeled "Third Music Room," I grew a little nervous. Hesitating before I opened the door, I was starting to wonder if the club was just as great as I thought it would be. Sensing my unease, my brother smiled just the slightest and rested his hand on my shoulder. I smirked at him, then opened the doors.

When I did open the doors, sparkles and bunch of rose petals came flying towards us. Seven male voices said in unison, "Welcome." I widened my eyes in mild surprise, then I grinned.

"Thanks!" I walked in right away, Arashi's steps perfectly synchronized with mine. He and I had the exact same face, one that would either look like a feminine boy or a masculine female. In other words, we looked like bishonen from a shoujo manga.

I noticed two other identical twins, impossible to tell apart. The first twin said,

"You must be-"

"-the new hosts," the second twin finished his sentence.

"Yup, that would be us," I gave them a lopsided smile.

"Good, you came!" Said Tamaki.

"Of course we would, King!" I responded back cheerfully.

His reaction was much more hyper this time. He leaped out from his chair and hugged me, then started twirling me around. He was probably smiling like the happiest child in the world(I couldn't tell since my face was buried into his chest). I was surprised how he just picked me up as if I was nothing but a rag doll. He ranted on about how I was his favorite host or something.

"Oh~ you're so cute and sweet and so far I think you will be my second favorite host!"

I was getting pretty dizzy, and although I didn't mind being hugged but he had startled me.

"Arashi! Help me!" My voice was muffled, and I was starting to lose oxygen.

In less than a second, he high-kicked Tamaki in the side, causing him to release me and crash into the ground. He had done so in a calm manner, hands still in his pockets. How Arashi-like. I safely landed in an almost ninja pose, then I looked towards Tamaki, who was a sprawled mess. I arched one of my eyebrows, then turned toward my brother.

"Really man? Must you do this every time?" He could be a bit too protective sometimes. Frankly, I feel as if I had three babysitters/bodyguards. I stood up and regained my posture.

The other set of twins burst out laughing, seeing their leader sprawled on the ground in an awkward fashion. Whining like a child, Tamaki got up and complained to the boy in glasses from earlier.

"Kyooooyyyyyaaaaaa! Akari's brother is meeeeeaaaaan!"

Arashi gave Tamaki a warning glare. It even sent chills down _my_ spine!

"Touch Akari again, and you can say goodbye to that pretty face of yours." His voice was steady and calm of course, but it was still menacing. Cowering behind Kyoya, Tamaki was stuttering in a stupid way. I lightly chuckled, then playfully punched my brother's arm.

"It's alright man, he didn't mean no harm," Arashi's glare immediately melted away, and his usual mask slipped on. He nodded, then unclenched his fists.

"Wow, overprotective much," the twins said in perfect sync.

"Sorry about Tamaki senpai, he can get a little carried away," I turned and saw a small brunette, about a head shorter than me and Arashi.

"I'm used to that kind of people, and you are?" I smiled down at him.

"Haruhi Fujioka," he smiled too. I wanted to be friends with him. He seemed young, a first year maybe.

"Arashi here is more protective of me than my other brothers, he follows me around everywhere." I was gesturing towards Arashi, who was blankly standing next to me like a statue.

"He's kinda like Takashi!" A sing song voice said. I looked up and was surprised to see a blonde boy sitting on top of the shoulders of a tall guy.

The boy in glasses spoke again.

"In the future, no violence is to be present in the Host Club. If you violate this rule once more, I'm afraid we will have to kick you out." Kyoya didn't look up from the black notebook he was scribbling something into. Arashi's face didn't change, and he just grunted.

"Enough of that, we must begin coaching you right away!" Tamaki stepped out from his hiding place and pointed at the two of us.

"Let us decide what type you will be!"

"Type?" Arashi and I looked at each other at the same time.

"Yes. We already have the Cool Type, the Boy Lolita, the Strong silent type, the Mischievous type, the Natural type, and..." He posed and paused for a dramatic effect.

"The Prince type."

"Well...I guess my brother and I could be the..uh...nice type?" I suggested sheepishly.

All of the sudden, a female voice came out from nowhere.

"No way! You got it all wrong!" Mechanical gears started turning, causing the room to tremble. A platform from the floor rose, revealing a cackling girl dressed in the Ouran uniform. When the rising platform halted, the girl laughed for one final time before speaking to us. Unlike me, the rest of the Host Club didn't seem surprised at all and acted as if everything was completely normal.

"Judging by how different both of your personalities are, you won't be sharing one type unlike the Hitachiin twins." She pointed at us with a disarming smile on her face. All I could do was stare back a bit stupidly. She then pointed more towards me.

"You! You will be the Cheerful type! In many shoujo mangas, your type of character would be the popular senpai who every girl hopes to gets noticed by! Your always smiling face and friendliness towards others make you immediately likable, and there will always be a jealous girlfriend or fangirl club who will bully the unpopular girl you have fallen for!"

I blinked, taking in the information. I was basically the typical popular senpai. Easy role. I smirked. The girl then pointed at Arashi.

"You! You will be the Tsundere Bad boy! A character with your type typically is a social outcast feared by many. The character lives in loneliness until one fateful day, a lonely girl befriends him! Cold at first, he tries to push her away but the more he does, the more he thinks of her the more he longs to be with her forever. He fights off his former enemies in order to protect her, and as he falls more deeply in love the more flustered and awkward he gets!"

Laughing once more, Renge (I asked Haruhi her name later) descended back into the floor, cackling like before. Why would the school allow her to install the weird moving floor-thingy anyway? I turned towards Arashi to see his reaction. He wore a blank facial expression, but I could tell he was weird-ed out. After a couple moments of silence, he said:

"I'm not doing this."

"WHAT!?" I yelled. He knew how excited I was for this, and I definitely wanted him to be in the club with me. Panicking, I tried the puppy eyes. They almost always worked! I made my eyes as big as they could and as teary as they could get, I fluttered my eyelashes and everything. I even did the lip tremble! No success. Then, I went for plan B. I wiped the adorable expression off of my face, then said to him:

"You're just quitting because you're well aware that you _can't_ be a better host than _me."_ I saw a Kyoya look up from the corner of my eye. I saw Arashi's eyes widen just the slightest but no one else noticed. The entire Host Club just stared at us, waiting to see what would happen. I was enforcing a bit of reverse psychology, and I was testing Arashi's pride.

"Aww, what's wrong? Are you gonna cry now?" Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

Undeterred, he answered my taunting.

"What's the game."

I grinned at him like the Cheshire cat.

"You and I will compete to see which one of us is the better Host. Whoever has more fan girls and customers, wins. _And_ , the winner gets to punish the loser." He considered my idea, then he gave me a small Cheshire grin back.

"Better be ready for your punishment, Akari." We shook on it, and the Host club seemed to be entertained with our little ordeal.

"Wow," said Tamaki.

"I approve the idea of the game, it will entertain the guests and it will be profitable for the Host club." He coolly smiled, I could practically hear the "ka-ching!" sound in his head.

"They like games too," the twins grinned at each other mischievously.

"They're like the twins!" Hunny-senpai said. Mori only grunted, he was kinda like a more emotionless version of my brother. Kind've.

"Do you guys want to play the 'which one is Hikaru' game?" The Hitachiins spoke again.

Curious, I asked them what it was. After explaining it to me, I first asked if I could study them for a minute before guessing. Hikaru had the slightly lower voice, but I don't think I could tell the two apart when they were speaking together. I closed my eyes when guessing and didn't open them. After hearing their voices, I heard a slightly lower pitch coming from the right side. I pointed in the direction of who I thought would be Hikaru. One of them told me I was wrong, their mistake. I slowly opened my eyes, and told them I was right. I told them what my method was. The twins looked slightly surprised, then accused me of cheating. I threw my hands up in defeat, and promised them to find a different method.

Afterwards, I turned to the Host Club, and said to Tamaki,

"Teach us everything there is to know about being a Host, King!" I grinned at them, determined to be the best host there is.

Tamaki talked for what seemed to be forever, explaining to us about the Club's rules, being courteous, and what the Host Club was generally about. I took it all in eagerly. Arashi listened, but he wasn't as enthusiastic as I was. Of course, he looked uninterested as always. The club apparently hadn't opened today, so we were basically trained for the whole two hours. I learned everybody's names, and so far my favorite person has got to be Haruhi. I figured out she was a girl because she told me how she got into the Host Club. Well, the twins and Tamaki started freaking out and trying to stop her, which made it all the more obvious. I think they liked me, and I already feel as if they've been friends with me for a long time. Oh, and Honey Senpai's cakes are _soooo_ good.

Well, I think I'm going to call it a night dear diary. No one knows you exist, and I hope it stays that way. All of my deep, dark, secrets are written in here so I don't want any of my brothers getting a hold of you. That would be endless torment. They would never stop teasing me about reading shoujo manga. I may act, talk, think, dress, and look like a guy but...I'm still a girl. I hope that maybe one day, I can stop hiding behind all these guy clothes. I hope one day I will have the courage to wear a pink, frilly dress with pride, instead of feeling awkward or embarrassed. But for now, I will stay being my guyish self. Always getting scrapes on my arms and legs, skateboarding, playing rock music on my guitar, and having only guy friends.

Yours Truly, Akari Hamasaki, the Princess of Tomboys.


	2. Chapter 2

_In a dark bedroom, two sets of bunk beds laid across from each other. In each bunk, a Hamasaki sibling slept peacefully. The blankets rose and fell with each of their breaths, and they all wore matching bat-man pajamas. Since they were children, the Hamasakis always stuck together. The brothers knew they'd always be life-long friends, and they all loved taking care of Akari, who they viewed as more of a brother. The serene sounds of soft breathing was suddenly broken, when a blaring, ear-splitting alarm screeched across the room, the tune sounding like a demented version of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.' Upon hearing the noise, the four siblings screamed and sat up in unison, and they all scrambled out of bed to turn off the hideous alarm. Akari and Osamu, being on bottom bunks accidentally slammed their heads into the metal frame. Both grimaced in pain and fell back onto the bed, clutching their foreheads. The eldest sibling, Haku, slipped while climbing down the ladder from his top bunk and crashed onto the ground, creating a mini earthquake. Arashi successfully lurched towards the table and slammed off the alarm._

"Ha, I win." Arashi turned toward me and my two older brothers, we were all moaning in pain. Ever since we were kids, we played this game every morning. It was called the 'who-can-turn-off-the-alarm-the-fastest' game. The winner got to punish the losers by making them do something stupid. We've always been competitive, and this game was perfect in preventing oversleeping.

Groaning, I got out from my bunk and the other two also regained their posture.

"What's the punishment _this_ time." Osamu asked bitterly, he hadn't won once this entire week. Sucker.

A grin crept up onto Arashi's lips, and he thought for a moment. Haku was impatient.

"Gah, just hurry up so we can get this over with!" He was the whiny childish one despite being the oldest.

"Twenty push-ups. Go."

Osamu groaned while Haku sighed. They hated push-ups. I on the other hand, was really good at them and I liked them. They were easy. I beamed at Arashi and started immediately, push-ups were nothing to me and he knew that. Yay, I was his favorite.

"No fair! She never really gets punished!" Haku pouted, then got into the push-up position.

"Suck it up like a man, Haku," I said grinning to myself. I finished first, Haku finished last. It was surprising, Osamu was the nerd and yet he still beat Haku in any physical activity.

"Whoo! I almost died!" Haku rolled over onto his back when he finished. We all laughed, then started getting ready for school. I was _pumped._ Today was going to be the first day Arashi and I were going to be hosts. I grinned. Good thing Haku was a charmer in public, I learned my ways from him. There was no way the girls would like my brother's act over mine, right? I've always secretly practiced being different characters(usually bishounen from shoujo manga.) But then again, I guess my brothers all were technically real-life bishounen. At least, that's what my ex-friend once told me. Well, I looked like one so Arashi and I were equal regarding appearance. We're twins after all. Still though, I was worried he would beat me. I knew exactly what his punishment was, and I wasn't going to like it. I decided that maybe I should think of his too.

As my brothers and I ate breakfast, I recalled everything Tamaki had said yesterday. He told us that today, we would be cosplaying which got me even more hyped than I already was. He didn't mention the theme, but that made me all the more anxious to go. After breakfast, we all scurried off to school. In a limo. Ugh, I felt so embarrassed riding one...

 _After school..._

I practically dragged Arashi across the hallway after school. He ran into a couple of dudes, who shot us dirty glares. I apologized, then continued dragging Arashi behind me. Face flushed from the fast-walking/running, I ran my fingers through my hair and opened the door from yesterday.

When I peered inside, I was absolutely blown away. The music room was decorated in the theme of a Butler café, and of course, the Host's were all dressed as classy Butlers. Typical, yet never gets old.

"Ah! You both have arrived!" Tamaki smiled at us, then strutted over to sling his arms around our shoulders.

"Your costumes are in the dressing room, be sure to do your best today! " I grinned.

"I won't disappoint you King!" Unwrapping his arms around us, Tamaki winked and gave me a thumbs up.

"I know you won't, rookie."

Arashi and I walked over to the dressing room, and went in through the curtained areas. Whenever I changed, I was only reminded how un girl-like my body was. It screamed "guy!" everywhere. I knew there were some girls who were late bloomers but...Come on! I was sixteen yet my chest was the same from when I was eight?! I finished buttoning up my Butler outfit, then looked in the mirror. I looked tall, slender, and like a bishie. I was kinda...sad? I wished that maybe, I looked a little more feminine like Haruhi. Sure, she was a tomboy too but her face and doe eyes screamed "girl!" I shook off the thought. Now was not the time to reflect on my insecurities.

"Ready?" I called to Arashi in the other curtain compartment.

"Hm," I heard the sound of him drawing his curtains back. I did the same. We eyed each other up and down, we looked even more similar now, if that was possible.

"Looking good," I nudged him with my elbow.

"Not bad," he said. We walked out together.

"Yes! You two look perfect!"

Beaming, I ran my fingers through my hair. The thing a lot of bishies did. Lowering my voice, I then said:

"Of course. I strive for perfection to please the ladies."

"Why don't you save it for the ladies then," said Kyoya.

I stuck my tongue out to him while pulling down one lower eyelid with my pointer finger.

Haruhi chuckled a bit.

"You're a lot like the twins, Hamasaki Senpai."

"Call me by my first name Haruhi," I smiled at her. I really hoped that if she ever found out I was a girl, she wouldn't hate me. I don't know why, but girls didn't like me when I tried to be their friend. I mean, I would have been a great gal-friend! I invited this one girl to go skateboarding and mud-wrestling one time, but she never spoke to me again! Who would turn down such a great offer?

"Okay, if that's what you want." She gave me that adorable smile of hers, I wish she was my younger sister.

"Awww, you're so cute!" I reached my hand over to pat her head. But when I did, Tamaki seemed to have snapped.

"Ahhh! No! Don't touch my daughter rookie!" He stole Haruhi away from me before I could pat her head.

"I already have enough trouble protecting Haruhi from those two!" He pointed an accusing finger at Hikaru and Kaoru. Throwing my hands up in surrender, I tried calming him down.

"Kay, sorry boss. Didn't mean to freak you out." I then turned to Haruhi.

"Sorry I tried getting into your personal space without your permission, and Tamaki's." I grinned apologetically at her. Her eyes widened a bit, then she smiled.

"You're actually one of the few people who respect my personal space, unlike _some_ idiots." And by some she was directly talking about Tamaki and the Hitachiins, she even glared at all three of them. The twins just shrugged. Before Tamaki could curl up into a little ball of despair, Kyoya spoke up.

"The club will be opening in two minutes, everyone should get ready."

The Hosts all disassembled and went their separate ways. My brother and I waved at each other, then separated. After what seemed like a couple of seconds, a sea of tacky, yellow uniforms came swarming into the Club. Three girls walked over to me. My very first customers. I erased my mind, and I became the popular senpai like from the manga I was reading.

I did the classic kind smile with my eyes shut, and waved my hand at the girls. The girls seemed less nervous, and approached me faster seeing that I was friendly.

"Nice to meet you ladies, my name is Akari Hamasaki, and I hope that you will enjoy my company as much as I will enjoy yours." I looked at each of their faces, and I had said it in the most charming voice I could manage. I stood and placed my hand on what seemed to be the leader of the group's back, and gently guided her to the sofas.

"Please sit down," I smiled at her, and she turned a light shade of pink. The other girls giggled.

After a few minutes of introductions, I started telling them funny jokes or complimented them on their appearances. It was super easy to get them all giggly and blushing around me.

"Do you girls like puppies or kittens?" I asked sweetly.

"Oh, that's so hard!" Said the one with blonde hair.

"Kittens! They're much smaller," the brunette said shyly.

"Puppies of course, I have three dogs at home and I love them to death!" The slightly red-haired one was the most outgoing.

"That's great! I personally would choose both. I never had a pet before, but I would really like to get one. They're so cuddly and adorable! Like you girls! I just wanna hug all of you and never let go." That phrase sent them squealing while blushing. I grinned. This was a great way to practice my acting.

Customers came and went, and they had pretty similar personalities. Some were shy, others were slightly clingy, but in the end every one of my customers felt at ease with me and some even told me about their personal troubles. I had snuck a couple of glances at Arashi, and noticed he was really mastering this tsundere bad boy act. He and I were equally popular. He wasn't very touchy or talkative I noticed, but he would blush from time to time, muttering 'it's not like I like you or anything...baka...' which sent the girls into a mad fan-girling session. Time flew by as people say, and the club was closing before I even knew it.

"You two were great," the twins gave us a thumbs up.

"I'm so proud of you both!" Tamaki was dramatically tearing up, he was lightly dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

"You guys are a natural!" Honey senpai also complimented our performance.

"Both of you increased our usual profits about 0.5%, and I noticed a couple of new customers coming in as well." He smiled, our presence was probably helping out the Host Club a bit.

"Great work," Haruhi smiled at us.

"I told you we wouldn't let you down!" I gave them my dazzling smile, then excused ourselves to change. I sort've noticed that Mori looked a little less emotionless today, and he kept on stealing glances at me from time to time. I wonder if I just looked really stupid and the Hosts were just trying to poke fun at me. Nah, I'm too awesome at this popular senpai thing. Anyways, I decided not to put too much thought into it.

"Nice work." Arashi said to me. He opened the curtain and entered to start changing, and I did the same.

"Not bad yourself, _tsundere bad boy._ " I could almost hear him scowling upon hearing my words. I chuckled, and started to unbutton my shirt. He was done, him being a super fast changer, so he left ahead of me.

"Hey! Wait up!" I frantically tried changing as fast as I could. I heard footsteps approaching. Oh no. I widened my eyes.

"Hey Akari-" I cut off the twins.

"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ANOTHER STEP CLOSER AND DON'T YOU DARE OPEN THE CURTAIN!" I screamed at them. I could almost see their matching faces displaying surprise.

"Why not-"

"I'M HALF-DRESSED AND IF YOU TRY ANYTHING I WILL BEAT THE TWO OF YOU UP AND-"

I was cut off, Arashi had heard my screaming and had rushed to my rescue. I heard him shove the twins away from my curtain and say,

"Leave her _alone_." His tone was deadly. I heard the twins scamper off, and I sighed from relief.

"Thanks Arashi." I resumed changing, feeling safe that my brother was standing outside the curtain, guarding me from intruders.

Great. I bet the entire school heard my outburst, no thanks to my loud voice. I wasn't get kicked out of the Host Club now am I? They kept Haruhi, but that was different. She had to, to pay off a debt. I wasn't obligated to stay, maybe they would kick me out for lying. I swallowed nervously, I didn't want to leave on my first day!


	3. Chapter 3

When I had finished changing, my brother and I walked out from the changing room. I thought that I could just pretend nothing happened and hope that no one noticed me screaming at the twins to not barge in on me when I was changing. But, of course that was just wishful thinking...When I came out, I saw the entire Host Club had been waiting for me to come out. Smiling nervously, I tried walking out. Of course, Tamaki blocked the door and the interviewing began.

"Not so fast, why didn't you tell us you were a girl in the first place?" Tamaki asked. He didn't say it in a snarky way, he was genuinely curious.

"Well, I never said I was a guy. Everyone in the entire school just happened to mistaken me as one. It's normal though, I got mistaken as boy even when I had long hair." I smiled at him sheepishly, with one hand rubbing the back of my neck. Then, I turned to the rest of the host club.

"You...you guys aren't going to kick me out or anything right?" I glanced at their faces nervously.

"Of course not! We think you make a great host Akari-chan!" Honey senpai was smiling sweetly at us. At hearing his words, I let out a sigh of relief, and gave him a sincere smile. Mori senpai just grunted.

"I don't see a problem in keeping you as a Host. In fact, I think you and your brother's presence will help the club more than hurt it." That sounded like a compliment. I think.

"And, you can be our new toy!" The twins said in unison. However, they didn't come over and try to touch me or anything since Arashi was standing right next to me.

"Who was the old one?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. At the same time, they slung their arms around Haruhi.

"Haruhi of course! You both can be our toys." The wore matching, mischievous grins.

"Now both you and Haruhi can be sisters! I being the father of course!" Tamaki was about to pull me into another one of his suffocating hugs but Arashi placed his hand on Tamaki's shoulder. Although Arashi was slightly shorter than Tamaki, being 5'9, he still scared the life out of Tamaki. The king immediately retreated behind Kyoya.

"Since when did you start acting so guyish?" The twins asked.

Thinking, I replied with a grin.

"My entire life of course! Didn't I tell you I have three older brothers?" As I answered their question, I had slung my arm around Arashi's neck.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm _wayyyyy_ stronger and more good-looking than _a lot_ of the male students who go here." I smirked at them.

"Ohh! Poor little Akari! Having been surrounded by men your entire life has made you into an absolute tomboy!" Tamaki dramatically teared up. Again.

"Boys!" He pointed at the host club.

"We must help Akari get back in touch with her more feminine side! None of us here knew she was a girl until the little ordeal from earlier because of how unlady-like she talks, acts, and dresses!" Kyoya from the back adjusted his glasses.

"Actually, I knew ever since yesterday after looking through her files." Wait, my files? I whipped my head in his direction.

"What do you mean my _files_?" I eyed him up and down.

"Your profile, your school registration papers, your birth certificate, and other things." He gave us that fake polite smile.

"And _how_ did you get them, exactly?" I was starting to wonder if he was a spy.

"I have my sources," he answered vaguely.

"You must be a professional stalker!" My eyes widened when I realized I had said my thoughts out loud. The Hitachiins bursted out laughing, but their snickers only seemed to fuel the annoyance or...dark rage that was looming over the Shadow King. The pen in his hand had snapped in two, and I swear I heard him growl. I gulped, then I turned back to the Hosts.

"Well, it's been fun today so I'll see you tomorrow!" I dragged Arashi out, I was pretty sure my thoughtless comment wasn't going to be forgotten. Based on what I've heard about that Ootori guy, whatever was in store wasn't going to be pretty.

"We'll probably get deported and sent to the North Pole." Arashi said as we walked towards the courtyard.

"S-shut up! N-nothing bad will happen!" I said this mostly to myself, trying not to freak out. I silently cursed my carelessness.

 _Later..._

"So that's why you're so worried?" Osamu stared at me with one eyebrow arched across the dinner table.

"Haha, yeah..." I smiled at him sheepishly.

"Dummy," he muttered under his breath, then he continued eating his dinner while skimming the pages of a medical textbook. I rarely see him _not_ studying when he's conscious.

"Don't worry little sis, you can always count on your big brothers!" Haku smiled at me cheerfully as he ate.  
"I know I can. And besides, Arashi is always with me so you both don't need to worry." The last thing I needed was my two older brothers being too overprotective. Just having Arashi always following me was fine, but all three of them!? No.

"Are you really okay with having to act like a guy for the _whole_ school year? Don't you have physical education next semester? You can't change in the men's locker room." Osamu didn't look up from his textbook as he questioned me. I blinked, I honestly hadn't thought about that.

"She could just join a sport over the summer! And change her schedule. Right?" Haku to the rescue.

"Yeah!" I then started devouring my noodles as if I was some ravenous wolf. I slurped loudly, but none of my brothers really minded.

After dinner, Osamu when to the study room to, well, study, and Haku and Arashi did their homework at the living room. I snuck back into the bedroom to read my favorite(but secret) shoujo manga. It was called "The Prince of Roses." I know. It's super cheesy and it's really stereotypical, but hey! The pretty boy characters and all the sparkles make up for it. I mean come on, _bishonen_. I read surprisingly romantic stuff that even the girliest of girly girls were ashamed to read! I never really liked a guy in real life before, maybe it was because I'm always surrounded by attractive men(my brothers) I've become immune. I glanced around, made sure that the room door was locked, and I sat on my favorite beanie chair and lost myself in the story.

 _"Oh senpai, I only seem to hurt everyone, especially you. It's best for everyone that I just stay away, I'm just too unloveable." Her long, magenta hair flowed in the wind, and the cherry blossoms showered down. A tall boy looked at her with shock on his ridiculously handsome face, and he roughly grabbed her hands._

 _"You don't understand Sakura-chan, you are the only girl who I love!" He pulled her into his arms, and sparkles shimmered in the background like stars._

 _"Oh senpai!" She blushed and the cherry blossoms continued falling down, and the wind continued to blow the couple's school uniforms and hair in one direction._

 _"Hey, she's mine!" Just then, another handsome boy grabbed the arm of the girl to pull her away from the other boy._

 _The first boy glared in anger, and grabbed the girl's other arm._

 _"No, she's mine!" The two ridiculously handsome students glared at each other, the girl blushing and confused on who she liked._

I heard a knock on the door. Jerking up I immediately hid the manga under the beanie chair and quickly unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey Osamu," I gave him my usual grin, pretending that everything was normal. Of course Osamu wasn't looking at me, he was sipping coffee while reading the textbook from earlier.

"Start on homework," he said as he entered the room and sat on his bunk.

"Yeah yeah," I waved my hand dismissively.

"Without looking up, he continued talking to me.

"I mean it young lady, if your grades drop, then-"

"I said okay! Geesh bro, you don't have lecture me about doing my homework every night." I started walking out of the room.

"Actually I do, or else you'd be too busy reading that _manga_ of yours," he sipped his coffee, and briefly glanced at me while smirking. My jaw dropped.

"No I don't! I don't even like shoujo manga and-"

"I never said you were reading _shoujo_ manga." He stifled his laughter and resumed reading the textbook. Face flushing, I bit my lower lip and sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck.

"Don't...tell Haku or Arashi for me...please?" I couldn't look at him in the eye. He didn't look up, but he smiled.

"We will see."

I left the room in a huff, I decided to finish all of my homework for the entire week. I've always done homework in this way. I always managed to convince the teachers to give me my homework early. It was a good thing my smile was so charming. If I got homework out of the way, I didn't have to worry about it! I smiled, and with determination I started.

 _The next day..._

I blinked slowly. I had pulled an all-nighter doing homework, and I had almost finished everything. Almost. If I pulled another one, then I would be able to finish everything. Osamu occasionally pulled all-nighters as well, but of course it didn't please Haku or Arashi. Osamu let me steal some sips of his coffee on the way to school, I was pretty quiet during the car ride. Or would it be limo ride?

The day went by in a blur, and I was too tired to notice Kyoya sending me death glares throughout the day. That boy held grudges. And when Tamaki rambled on to me, I would just weakly smile and nod my head slowly. I would smile at the girls in an absent-minded, sleepy way, and my drowsiness started multiple fangirling sessions. Especially when I yawned.

School ended, it was time to go to the host club. I walked calmly to the host club this time, with Arashi walking next to me in a calm, civilized fashion. When we entered, the other hosts were getting set up. The theme this time was Ancient Rome.

"Oh hello Akari, you and your brother's costumes are in the dressing room." Kyoya was the first to greet us in his cool voice.

"Hey there professional stalker," I said sleepily as I rubbed one of my eyes. I thought I saw a vein appear on his forehead, like in anime.

"Kyoya is just fine," I think it took every ounce of self-control for him to say that without snarling at me.

"Sorry Kyoya, I'm just-" yawning, I didn't complete my sentence.

"How un-gentleman like! Akari, please refrain from being sleepy when in the Host club!" Tamaki scolded me.

"Haruhi, could you give Akari some commoner's coffee so she could wake up?" Haruhi walked away to retrieve the requested item. I looked at him funny.

"Commoners coffee?" Haruhi arrived just then(wow that was fast).

I smelled it, it smelled like normal, instant coffee. I sipped it, and it didn't taste much different.

"It's just normal instant coffee," I turned to Tamaki, who had been anxiously waiting for my reaction.

"What!? You already knew about it!? But how! You belong to a very high class family! You are one of the offspring of the most successful electronics business owner in the world!" Tamaki was real worked up, I kept drinking the coffee, it was waking me up.

"She and her brothers may come from a very prestigious family, but after the death of their mother they were all sent away to live in America where they were homeschooled. They lived amongst and like commoners since Elementary school, and of course they speak perfect English. Around three months ago, their father approved of them attending a private school, so they returned to Japan and are currently living in a single bedroom apartment complex." Kyoya smiled as if he was saying "I know all about you so don't you try anything," and I could feel my brother tensing up a bit.

"Yeah yeah, you didn't need to share our life story with everyone. And next time, if you want to know something just ask me! There isn't a single question that I find too embarrassing or too personal to answer," I gave him a polite smile so he wouldn't think I was challenging him.

" _Any_ question?" The twins snaked their arms around my shoulders. Arashi almost instantly walked over, grabbed each twin's ears and yanked them away from me.

"Ow!" Said Hikaru(I think).

"That hurt!" Said Kaoru.

I grinned at them smugly.

"Yeah, if you successfully don't get pummeled by Arashi."

"Oh Arashi! It's so nice to see you are so loving and protective of your sister!" Tamaki slid his arm around Arashi's shoulders, who didn't look amused.

"Could you perhaps also be a big brother to Haruhi? The twins are quite a handful and I politely ask as her father that you keep her safe." Tamaki smiled at Arashi, who thought about it for a moment.

"If Haruhi is okay with it," he said.

"Wonderful! HAaaaRruuuuuHHhiiii!"

"What senpai," Haruhi came back dressed in a Roman toga.

"Meet your new older brother! He will keep those shady twins away from you!" Tamaki lightly pushed Arashi towards Haruhi.

"Sorry about Tamaki, Arashi-senpai," Haruhi smiled apologetically at him. He slightly smiled.

"You can call me Arashi." He then looked back at me, then started heading towards the changing area, and I followed.

I had way more customers than last time, and of course I cranked up my act just a notch. Arashi did too, his bad boy moments were more dramatic, and his tsundere moments were more adorable. He earned a lot of squealing from the ladies. I didn't receive much squealing, but that was because I didn't want to make the Host club any louder than it already was. All of my customers talked and chattered away with me. We talked on, and on, and on. The girls cranked up their charm and cuteness level, and I did too. As I pushed the hair away from the face of one of my customers, I said,

"You have really pretty hair! And it's so soft and long..." I gently played with her hair while gazing at it dreamily. She turned bright red and hid her face behind her hands.

"Ah! Er..." she was at lost for words. I cheerfully beamed at her.

"Lucky!" The two other girls blushed while looking and pouting at me.

"Stop acting so cute! I don't think I can take it much longer!" The customers giggled away and tried to get noticed by me. Behind all their sweet smiles, I could feel the jealousy and competition going on between all of them. They were seriously like an army of the "mean popular girls" from any shoujo manga, or the overly-obsessed fangirl club. My other customers were the sweet fangirls, but these girls were the meanest from the bunch. I always had to crack a funny joke that would ease the tension once every ten minutes. This was one of those moments, so I decided to tell them my favorite joke as a kid.

"Ladies, would you like to hear a childish joke? I'm not sure if you'll find it funny though." I definitely had all of their attention now. I started.

"A teacher asked a student, 'Do you know the alphabet?"

The kid said no, so the teacher said, 'Well, tomorrow you gonna have to say the alphabet to me.'

The kid went home and asked his mom, 'Mom, what's the 1st letter of the alphabet?' His mom responded, 'Sshhh, I'm on the phone.'  
The kid asked his dad, 'Dad, what is the 2nd letter of the alphabet?' His dad was watching his football, and he said, 'Yes!'  
He then asked his sister, "What's the 3rd letter of the alphabet?" She said, "Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson."  
He then asked his little brother, "Bro, what's the 4th letter of the alphabet?" The little brother said, 'Driving in my vroom vroom car. Driving in my vroom vroom car.'

The next day, the kid met the teacher, she asked, 'What's the 1st letter of the alphabet?'  
The kid answered, 'Sshhh, I'm on the phone.'  
The teacher got angry and said, ' do you want to go to the principal's office?'  
The kid responded, 'Yes!'  
The teacher said, 'Who do you think you are?'  
The kid said, 'Michael Jackson.'  
The teacher said, 'How do you think you are going to get away with this?'  
The kid said, 'Driving in my vroom vroom car! Driving in my vroom vroom car."

All three of the girls were smiling and giggling uncontrollably. They had more sense of humor then I thought, and I laughed with them. I really enjoyed my time at the club, I didn't remember smiling or having as much fun as I did now.

After many customers came and went, the club was over too soon.

"Thank you ladies, please come back! I will miss you all!" I smiled and waved as the last of my customers left.

"Bye Akari senpai! We will miss you too!" They left giggling. How adorable, I wish I could giggle like that...

I glanced over to where Arashi was, and one particularly clingy customer was holding onto his arm and refusing to leave. Tamaki and the twins tried gently pulling her away, but her grip on his arm tightened! Even though his face seemed fine, no one but me was able to see his eyes shift uncomfortably. He still kept up the tsundere bad boy act.

"D-don't touch me like that...It..it makes my chest feel weird..." He used his free hand to cover his "blushing" face, when really he was hiding a grimace. He wanted her off of him _now_. I dove in to rescue him.

Slinging my toned arm over my brother, I smiled while looking at her.

"Aww, look you made him blush! Maybe you can try to make me blush like that," I gently did the classic chin-tilting(that I had observed and learned from the other Hosts).

"Cutie," that one word sent her swooning and she flat out fainted. The King caught her of course, and her friends carried her away. All the lady customers had left the room now.

"Thanks," Arashi resumed to his normal self, and he sounded very relieved that the club was done with.

"You did a fantastic job again today!" Tamaki was beaming happily.

"All thanks to your lessons, king!" I shot a similar smile back at him.

He glomped on me and nuzzled his face on the top of my head, I smiled at him and patted his blond hair.

"You remind me of a golden retriever," I said.

"I do?"

"Yup. Blonde, kinda over-bearing, cute, lovable, friendly, and happy." He smiled then patted my head.

"If I didn't know any better, you like Tamaki don't you!" The twins said.

"Yeah, I do. I like all of you!" I gave them a boyish smile. Hitachiin's mischievous grins vanished and they started fanboying.

"She's so innocent and cute!" They immediately hugged me from both sides while doing the same nuzzling motion on the top of my head Tamaki had done earlier. Only, they were the same height as me so it didn't have the same effect. I was surprised, I was _cute_? I saw Arashi frowning from the corner of my eye, but I smiled at him to let him know I was fine. His facial expression relaxed, and he went to the dressing rooms to change back into his uniform.

"I'm...cute?" I looked at them questionably, then I pinched their faces so they would get off of me.

"Ow!" They said at the same time.

"Hah! I'm manlier than the two of you combined," I said jokingly.

"Nuh-huh," said Hikaru.

"You're not-" said Kaoru.

"Even a guy," Hikaru finished.

"So?" I stuck my tongue out at them. Then I playfully skipped away towards the changing room while humming. The twins and the rest of the Host club were probably staring at me. Prancing into the curtain area, I patted Arashi on the head knowing he changed first so he could guard me again. I closed the curtain behind me, and started to change out from my Roman toga. After changing back, I walked out into the club room again and I asked Tamaki:

"What's our theme for tomorrow?" I asked curiously.

"We won't be dressing up tomorrow, we will just be our charming selves," he was doing some princely poses again.

"Can...can I help with the themes and stuff? If that's alright with you boys," I asked, hopeful.

"If you're able to come up with good suggestions, then yes," Kyoya was scribbling something down in his notebook, what was he writing down anyways?

"Alright cool! Because I was thinking maybe next time it would be a sleepover theme!"

The rest of the Host members looked at me curiously.

"The host club would be turned into a huge blanket/pillow fort, and the costumes would be pajamas of course and the room would be dim and some lights would hang from the ceiling! And maybe there would be pillow fight competitions between us so the girls could get entertained and all." I grinned at them, I wasn't sure if my idea was the best but I thought it was pretty cool.

"That's actually not that bad! We're always dressed up, so maybe the guests would love to see us dressed down for a change! And some Hosts could reveal a little more skin than others, since that's what the ladies like." Tamaki seemed to approve of my idea, so I smiled.

"I think it would be successful enough," I could practically hear Kyoya's head calculating the amount of money that would be lost and gained from the theme.

"Glad my idea wasn't too stupid," I grinned at the group.

"Oh and Haruhi, could I um...get your number perhaps? I was thinking since we will be seeing each other a lot we could be friends..." I smiled nervously, I really hoped an actual girl wanted to be my friend. To my joy, she smiled and said yes. We exchanged numbers, but Tamaki asked when she got a cell phone. She revealed to us that the twins had got it for her, saying that it was part of a family plan. Tamaki sank into his emo corner. But he snapped out of it when Haruhi offered him her number. The twins asked for mine too, so I ended up getting or giving everyone my number.

"You can call me whenever you want to eat cake with us!" Honey senpai was just so adorable, and his cakes very delicious.

"You bet I will!" I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder, and poked Mori's arm.

"You don't mind, do you Mori-senpai?" I gave him my boyish grin.

"Hn," it meant no. Good thing I was fluent in Arashi, his language and Mori's were similar. But, Arashi was easier to understand.

Arashi and I both waved goodbye after we all got or gave phone numbers, and when we headed to the limo . When we arrrived, we found that Osamu and Haku were waiting for us.

"What took you so long?" Haku asked in a whiny voice. Of course Arashi wouldn't answer.

I rolled my eyes then gave him the man-slap on the back.

"We were making new friends, now let's go home."

 _ **Thank you all very much for all the following, favoriting, and reviewing!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Tamaki and Kyoya texted me saying that they approved of my idea for the sleepover theme. They told me that the theme would take place at the end of next week. I was too excited when I got home to think suspiciously about it. Arashi thought it was strange of Kyoya to actually accept my idea after me calling him a professional stalker _twice_. Arashi of course warned me that there was probably something behind him approving my idea, and warned me to be cautious. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Nah, he just liked my idea that's all! Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish this week's homework." I gently brushed my clone aside, and headed towards our room to start on homework. Haku had been dropped off at work on the way home; he had permission from the school to work of course. His job was more of a hobby, he always really liked baking. And because he was the son of an important business figure, he would come and leave the bakery whenever. The owner didn't mind though, the shop always had more customers(mostly female) whenever he worked. The owner and him were actually childhood friends, I guess she was like an older sister to me a long time ago. She and Haku only recently met after us moving into this apartment, so I've never met her. I slumped onto my bunk, and got out my homework.

 _Six hours later..._

"Yes...I'm finally done," I slammed my pencil on the ground and jumped up to stretch my legs. I hoped to tell Kyoya and Tamaki more ideas I had for the club's theme. I had tons of ideas! Like: a hospital theme, a pirates theme, a Victorian era theme, a steampunk theme, Alice in Wonderland theme, Disney theme, Superhero theme, cat boys theme(who doesn't like cat boys?), merman theme, Fairy tale theme, a Secret Garden theme, a Candyland theme, a Toyland theme, and so much more!

While I was too busy visioning the possible themes, I hadn't noticed Haku, Osamu, and Arashi standing by the doorway. I only noticed after Haku knocked on the wall and cleared his throat.

"Hey, did you guys need something?" I tilted my head to the side.

"We just wanted to talk to you about something," Haku and the others entered and sat in Osamu's lower bunk sitting across from mine.

"You...know very well that after two years we will all be married off to someone our father has chosen." Osamu stared into my face in a grave manner. I lowered my head and looked at the ground.

"I know," I said quietly.

"I know it's not fair, we all wanted to marry someone we chose ourselves," Haku said gently.

"It's just business," I said for him. I've heard this lecture so many times.

"Keep your guard up, and don't let yourself become vulnerable enough to develop feelings for anyone. _Especially_ in that Host club of yours." Surprised, I looked up. Osamu wore a stern expression on his face, while Haku wore a sad one. I couldn't discern what emotions Arashi was feeling, maybe he was feeling just as hollow as I did.

"No worries Osamu, I've never fallen in love before and I'm not stupid enough to start now." I gave all of my brothers a half-hearted smile.

"Same goes for the three of you, don't fall in love with anyone." I stood up and went back to my "normal" self.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna take a shower. Catch ya guys later!" I grabbed my clothes, and headed into the bathroom. The three of them stayed in the bedroom, following me with their eyes. I could tell they didn't fall for the "I'm fine" trick. They could probably sense my misery, as I could sense their gloom.

In the shower, I just stood still while I let the hot water wash down on me. In silence, tears and water streamed down my stoic face. It wasn't fair. Because I was born into the prestigious society, I couldn't escape. I thought about the Host club, and it lightened my mood. I was definitely going to have as much fun as I could in the two years ahead of me, my last two years of absolute freedom. Yeah, that was a good plan. I slightly smiled to myself.

After getting all squeaky clean, I crept out from the bathroom to not make any noise. Arashi probably went to bed already. He was not a night person, the later the night the fouler his mood. Sure enough, he was bundled up on his bunk, softly breathing. I crept into my bunk as quietly as I could, and got myself snuggled in. And of course I grabbed Curry, my stuffed, orange cat and cuddled with him. I know, very childish of me. But hey, I wasn't alone. Osamu slept with a shark plushie named Selachimorpha(the scientific name for a shark). Mom won it for the both of us a long time ago at a festival, Haku and Arashi never really liked dolls much. No one ever mentions her at our house, it wasn't a taboo but...we just never really talked about it. There wasn't any reason to. Oh well, the past is in the past. I closed my eyes and fantasized about what would happen next in my manga, I already knew Sakura was going to go for the second boy. The popular senpai or rude bad boy almost always wins, and the childhood friend always loses for some odd reason. In my opinion, she should go for the friend who would always care about her like an older brother. Drowsiness took over, and my thoughts and consciousness faded away.

 _The next day..._

"Hello Kyoya, Tamaki, good day today!" I entered the Host club with more energy than the previous day.

"Akari! Arashi! Good to see you both!" Tamaki was always either too happy, angry, or too depressed, there didn't really seem to be an in-between.

"Akari, Arashi." Kyouya was furiously typing, and so he didn't look up when he greeted us.

The club opened, and I had a lot of customers again! It was once again super loud, but I guess that meant the club was going along smoothly. I caught glances of the other Host's acts while I entertained my guests. So far, my favorite was Honey and Mori senpai's. Mainly because of the cake. And how mysterious Mori senpai seemed. And that bunny, I really wanted one...

"Akari senpai?" I looked up at my customer, then smiled apologetically. I had a wandering mind.

"So sorry ladies, I was curious about the other Hosts. You will forgive me, right?" I gave them the smolder, the one from the Disney movie Tangled.

"Of course we forgive you!"

"Could you tell us a story?"

Oh yes I can.

"What type of story would you like?" I asked them. Please pick a love story.

"A sad, but romantic one," the three girls said together dreamily. I closed my eyes to quickly make one up, and I did. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and began.

 _Once upon a time, a lonely princess lived in her father's palace. She spent her days longing to explore the free world that lay outside of her windows, outside of the stone walls that trapped her inside. She had many, many servants who all loved her dearly but were forbidden to look or even speak to her unless they were spoken to. If anyone broke the rules, or had fallen in love with the princess, the penalty was death._

I had a very, emotional tone to my voice. I didn't notice that other Hosts and their customers were listening. The ladies all looked at me intently to continue.

 _The princess spent many days singing her lovely song of despair in her garden. Her voice was so sweet and enchanting, even the wind stopped so not to disturb her. Little did she know, that her personal guard who always followed her listened everyday. In his heart, his love for her grew, but he didn't dare show it. It seemed as if with every note she sang, his love only grew. If anyone were to find out about his love for her, he would certainly be put to death. However, he didn't know that she had fallen in love with him as well. Everyday her unhappiness festered in her heart, slowly taking away a little bit her happiness and dreams._

 _On day, she would be married off to a complete stranger. She was to marry to a man with equal status as she, but their marriage would be nothing but days of silence and emptiness. Just once, she wanted to be held by a man who loved her with all of his heart. And her guard, he just wanted to see her smile, even if it was just once._

 _One fateful evening, knowing that if he was caught he would be killed, the guard declared his undying love for the princess. He swore to protect her forever, and that he would do whatever it takes to make her happy. Crying tears of joy, the princess asked the guard if he would follow her if she ran away. He promised that he would. Under the silver moonlight, they shared their first kiss. Little did they know that another servant had scurried off to her father to tell him what he had witnessed._

 _The next day, the King's army of soldiers came to take the princess away, and to put her guard to death. When one of her father's guards forcibly grabbed her, the guard protected her. He fought off as many soldiers as he could to protect the princess. He fought for as long as he could, her love for him giving him strength. He kept fighting until he eventually collapsed from exhaustion. In his vulnerable moment, a soldier attacked him. Crying, the princess held him as he was dying in her arms. He begged her to sing just one last time for him. Although it was difficult, the princess choked back tears and sang the song she sang the day they first met. The day when he became her guard. They were only children then, and with every note she regretted not being with him sooner. When she thought she could finally be with him, he was slipping away from her grasp. The guard died smiling, happy to have heard her voice just one last time. At the end of her song, she found her guard to be nothing but a cold, empty, shell. She sobbed and held him so tight and close to her heart, hoping that if she held on long enough he would come back. He never did, and no one could bring themselves to tear her away from her dead love._

 _The princess was locked away forever in a house in the mountains. For the rest of her life, the princess never uttered a single word or sang another song again. She lived in darkness and anguish, there was never a day she didn't cry herself to sleep. Her servants watched her die slowly from a broken heart. She died only a month after her love passed away. The servants mourned her death, and in remembrance of the two lovers, the king had them build two statues. One of the princess, and one of the guard on two different hills that would never meet. Then the king too, allowed heartbreak to eventually kill him many years later. He never forgave himself for causing his only daughter so much pain. The legend claims that the king disappeared one day and was never found._

Most of the Host club was crying, while others held back tears. I was surprised, I didn't realize such a large crowd had been listening to my story. Glancing around a bit awkwardly, I noticed even Haruhi seemed a bit moved from my story. Honey senpai and Tamaki were straight out bawling.

"Er...I hadn't realized so many people were listening," I smiled nervously.

"That...that was such a touching story!" One of my guests had eyes brimming with tears, while the other two had already cried and were wiping away their tears.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you ladies cry!" I frantically reached into my pocket for some tissues and handed all three of my customers one each. I then turned to the rest of the guests and Hosts.

"Sorry!" I smiled apologetically.

"That was so sad Akari-chan!" Mori was wiping away Honey senpai's tears with some tissues, he even seemed a bit sad.

"It was so emotional, so romantic!" Tamaki dramatically wiped away his tears with a tissue.

It took about ten minutes for everyone to recompose themselves, and club activities resumed. Everything went back to normal. I knew that I was going to be questioned again after the club was closed.

"Which story was that?" Haruhi asked me curiously. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I just made it up, it was fairly easy and I thought it was very typical." I grinned at her.

"Don't tell me my brave little sister cried over some stupid story like that!" I playfully punched her on the shoulder. She smiled at me.

"We didn't think it was that stupid," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, it was really a tear-jerker. More than half of the customers were crying." Finished Kaoru.

"I cried too!" Honey senpai said with his childish voice.

"Heh, sorry I made you cry senpai," I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.

"It was a beautiful story! I didn't know your boyish self could come up with such a romantic and sweet fairy tale!" Tamaki slung his arm over my shoulders dramatically.

"I see bringing out your more feminine side will not be so hard after all! You are already a romantic!" Tamaki said happily. I shot him a glare.

"I can be as boyish as I want to be. An liking romantic stuff doesn't necessarily mean that I'm girly. You like romantic stuff too Tamaki." I coolly brushed his hand off of my shoulders.

"So you do like the romance genre," Kyoya gave me that cold smile again. I froze. Dang it. Kyoya and his way to twist my words.

"That's not what I mean!" I said frantically.

"Sure," the twins said. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Guys cut it out, there's no reason to make such a big deal out of nothing." Haruhi defended me.

"I only have you Haruhi," I slung my arm around her shoulder and beamed. I heard Arashi made an angry grunt. I turned towards him, and assured him that I was aware he would always be on my side. The twins and Tamaki pestered me to bring my older brothers next time, and I said I'd ask. Just then, my older brothers walked in from nowhere. Perfect timing.

"Arashi, Akari, if you two are always going to be so late then we going to leave without you," Haku said in a whiny manner.

"Sorry! We got so caught up!" I smiled at my two older brothers.

"Host club, I present to you my older brothers Haku and Osamu. " I gestured towards them with a grin on my face.

"Nice to meet you all," Haku smiled. Then he saw Haruhi.

"Oh good! I'm glad Akari isn't the only one who pretends to be a guy, the two of you could be friends!" Haku smiled at Haruhi. Tamaki and the twins freaked out.

"Haruhi's not a boy silly!" Tamaki said frantically.

"Hey Haruhi, looking quite manly today!" said Hikaru.

"Yeah! You were so strong carrying all those-" Haku laughed, cutting off Kaoru.

"Akari told me about all of the Hosts already, including Haruhi. Don't worry about it, I won't tell anyone about her. And I'm surprised people don't know she's a girl, look at that cute wittle fwace!" He activated his doting brother mode. Osamu hadn't looked up from his textbook or said anything upon arriving. He just continued reading while sipping his coffee. The Hitachiins crept up from behind him to see what he was reading.

"Why are you reading some boring medical textbook?" They said in unison.

"Because I have to," he said flatly while furrowing his eyebrows.

"That's no fun," the twins left him, seeing that he was boring.

"Do you like cake Haku-chan?" Honey asked cutely. Oh, Honey was going to love my big brother.

"Of course, and if you like cake you should visit the bakery I work for. I bake and decorate almost all the pastries there. Feel free to stop by or make a special order." Haku fumbled around his pocket before handing Honey a card with the address and phone number of the shop. Honey's eyes widened from joy, and he did a cute jumping motion. Usa-chan's ears flopped up and down as Honey jumped.

"Hear that Takeshi? Haku said we can come by whenever! Isn't that great?" He giggled happily while twirling Mori around.

"Akari, I thought we specifically told you not to tell anyone," Kyoya looked at her with his glasses reflecting the light. She gulped nervously while rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Sorry, it kinda slipped! But don't worry my brothers are _way_ better at keeping secrets than I am." I smiled at the club apologetically.

"It's alright Akari, it doesn't really matter too much to me," Haruhi was so sweet. Osamu closed his book and checked his watch.

"Hey, we should really get going." Osamu drew the attention of his siblings in a tired voice.

"You all look surprisingly good-looking, how would you like to join the Host club? That way, you can keep a better eye out on your younger sister. Based on what I've seen and heard, you all are very protective and caring of her." Tamaki looked at Kyoya, who seemed to be approving.

"I'll consider it." Osamu said nonchalantly.

"Hmm..." Haku tapped his chin with his slender finger.

"Well, I don't really want to entertain ladies all day. I may like flirting with women but I already deal with enough of that at work. But, I would be willing to supply the Host club with sweets from the pastry shop I work for. The club would save more money buying from our less well-known shop rather than a professional sweets company. I assure you, the cakes and other pastries will be satisfactory. Sound good, Ootori?" Haku gave Kyoya his rare business smile.

"And what merits will it bring you?" Asked Kyoya casually.

"I'd be helping out the owner of course, who is a good friend of mine. Your club saves money, I help a friend. Win-win, right? So, do we have a deal?" Haku held out his hand towards Kyoya. He thought for a moment, before taking it.

"Deal." They both were giving each other the cool, polite smile. I think their feelings toward each other is neutral. We bid our farewells, and left to the courtyard. We apologized to Bill(our driver) but he was cool with it.


	5. Chapter 5

_A week passed since Akari and Arashi became Hosts. It was the day when the Host club would be themed as a sleepover party, and Akari did most of the set up and decorations as punishment for calling Kyoya a professional stalker. He enjoyed her misery. She spent the entire week fretting over the decorations and staying late after club hours for preparations much to her three brother's dissatisfaction. On Friday, she was nearly done with putting up all the decorations, and the teacher had allowed her to leave early to do so._

"Whew! Finally, almost done. I just need to hang up these last couple of stickers,"I was on the ladder and was attaching some fancy glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling. Although I'm pretty tall, reaching the ceiling is pretty tough. I went on my tippy toes and tried to stick one up there, but I was too short! I reached as far as I could, and I felt the ladder shake and tip over. My heart stopped, I could feel myself falling backwards, and I turned my body around so that I could attempt to catch myself. Poop. I shut my eyes and braced myself for a painful crash, but instead I found a pair of hands wrapping themselves around me. My face hit something hard, but not hard like the floor. Whoever caught me smelled like clean laundry, and we both fell backwards and closer to the ground. I looked up only to see someone's neck, my face had been buried in their chest while we were falling. I suddenly felt a sharp jerk. He grunted from the impact of hitting the floor, and my head rammed into his chest again. I tried to get up, but the person's arms were still wrapped around me. I looked up to see a stoic face looking back.

"Oh! Mori-senpai, sorry I kinda crashed into you! My bad..." I smiled apologetically and tried to get up. He released his grip on me and we both sat up, dismissing the fact that I had been pancaked right on top of him. I was now sitting right next to him, but I got up and offered him a hand to avoid awkward silence.

"Thanks for cushioning my fall, I owe ya one," I grinned at him as he grabbed my hand and hoisted himself up. Good thing I was strong, otherwise I would've fallen on top of him again.

"Be more careful," he said in his passive voice. Standing straight, he casted a shadow over me. His face looked emotionless as always, like Arashi's. But I could still tell that he was a bit worried about me.

"I will, and sorry. And thanks," I turned around and picked up the ladder that toppled over. I then set it up again, and tried to gather the glow-in-the-dark star stickers I had dropped. The reason why they were so expensive was because they glowed _very_ brightly in the dark, unlike the regular ones. Mori joined me and helped. I wondered why he came so early alone.

"Where's Honey-senpai?" I asked him.

"Napping," he said. It's the most he has talked since I got here.

"Oh I see," I picked up the last one and stood.

"You don't really talk much huh? Arashi is a lot like you." I smiled at him.

"If you don't mind, could you hold the ladder for me so I can finish putting the stars up?" I asked politely.

"I'll do them," he grabbed the stickers from my hand and started to climb up the ladder. He easily placed them on the ceiling with no trouble. I held onto the ladder of course, I didn't want some giant crushing me! And he would get hurt if I let go so yeah. Common sense. After a minute he got down again, and he turned towards me. I He was about a head taller than me. I felt like a shortie next to him. Looking up at his face, I gave him a smile.

"Thanks big brother! You're the best!" I gave him a thumbs up.

"You don't mind me calling you that, do you?" He only grunted in response, which meant he was okay with it. I thought I saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

"Great! Well, I'll see you in a little bit, _Big Brother_." My grin widened, and I happily folded up and carried the ladder with one arm and skipped away humming. I exited the music room, and turned left to the janitor's closet. I opened it, and placed the ladder inside. After shutting the door, the bells chimed indicating that school was over.

 _Later..._

I had done a fantastic job with the decorations. There were pillows everywhere as well as blanket tents for every host, and the primary colors were baby blue, violet, and cotton candy pink. The color scheme created a very dream-like vibe, and everyone was super relaxed. The Hosts all wore pajamas and slippers, and guests were asked to remove their shoes upon entering the blanket tents to be entertained by their Host. Tamaki wore a white, silk pajama set and his button-up top was a little to, well...unbuttoned. He just wore the top like a vest, his bare torso exposed for the world to see. Kyoya was better, the purple shirt was just unbuttoned a bit at the top. The twins didn't wear their shirts at all, and they only wore blue pajama bottoms. Mori was also shirtless to my dismay. Arashi insisted on being all covered up like Haruhi, Honey, and me. Honey senpai wore a cute, pink, bunny footsie, Haruhi wore a black and white polka-dotted pajama set, and Arashi and I wore our matching batman pj's. All the Hosts were just wearing their actual pajamas to save on costumes. At the center of the club room, a little boxing ring was placed for pillow fighting(which would take place near closing time).

As I entertained my customers, I couldn't help but feeling proud of my hard work. Everyone really seemed to like it! Kyoya even complimented me!(Kind've).

"Would you ladies mind if I did your hair?" I asked my four guests.

"Of course not! Please do whatever you would like!" My red-haired customer spoke up first. After about thirty minutes of braiding all of my customer's hair, they all were laughing and playfully throwing popcorn at each other. Today, Arashi was going for more of a sleepy bad boy rather than a tsundere bad boy. I think he was getting real fed up having to pretend blush all the time. Tamaki with his loud voice then called for the attention of everyone in the club.

"It is now time for the pillow fighting to begin! Are there any challengers against Mori senpai?" The girls looked around the room giggling from excitement. The Hitachiins volunteered to go first. The twins and Mori were given pillow armor, which made them look like ridiculous marshmallows and a huge body pillow as their "sword." They stood at opposite ends of the ring.

"Go!" Tamaki yelled, standing outside of the ring. The twins immediately lurched towards Mori and tried attacking him from different sides. Mori knocked out the twin to his right first, and ducked down when the second twin tried to get him. The twins tried recovering. In their moment of weakness, Mori swung the pillow at the head of one twin, sending him flying out of the ring. He crashed onto the ground, which was pretty far since the ring was elevated, and he groaned despite having armor cushioning his fall.

"Kaoru!" The other twin threw down his "sword" and some pillow armor. He rushed to his brother's side and held him in his arms.

"Kaoru, are you alright?" Hikaru asked.

"I...I think so..." Said Kaoru in a pretend weak voice. I rolled my eyes, their brotherly love act was kinda lame to me.

"Dummy, don't scare me like that again," fangirl meltdown. After the chaos settled down, Tamaki called for more challengers. After a few silent moments and seeing that no one was really volunteering, I raised my hand.

"Me!" I said cheerfully. Tamaki smiled and ushered me on to the ring.

"Don't go easy on me big brother," I said as some other Hosts helped me put on my pillow armor. He didn't say anything, but I knew that he would go easy on me anyway. We stood at the opposite side of the rings again, and stared each other down. I heard a lot of girls cheering me on.

"Go!" Said Tamaki once again

I slowly stepped forward, and Mori did too. We circled each other cautiously for a while, until he made his first move. He had tried to trip me by attacking my legs first, but I jumped up and over him in a "leapfrog" type of action. I whipped my pillow around at his legs, and he slightly lost balance but recovered in the blink of an eye. I lurched towards him again, aiming for his face this time, but he easily blocked my move and tried to go for my shoulder. I was too slow to dodge, so I ended up falling on my right side. He stopped, and offered me his hand to get up so we could resume. I beamed at him, took his hand and hoisted myself up. Before I was in a full standing position, I lunged at him with all my might hoping to knock him down. I didn't succeed, but I managed to make him take a couple of steps back. After a couple more seconds of sparring, he won. I lost my balance and staggered backwards and out of the ring. Girls cheered, Mori won. I took off my pillow armor and smiled at him.

"Go Big Brother!" I joined the girls in cheering. The pillow fights continued on for a little bit more. Honey and Mori didn't really get anywhere, but Arashi almost won until he fell for the same move I did and staggered out of the ring as well. When the club was about to close, all the customers were laughing and smiling brightly, they said today was one of the most exciting days at the host club. They also complimented my idea on their way out, and said they hoped I kept mentioning them to Tamaki and Kyoya. I smiled at them all and kept waving until the last of the customers had left.

"The sleepover party theme was a huge success! I knew you would make me proud!" Tamaki doted over me and hugged me while twirling around again. I was laughing as he did.

"Thanks King, but you can put me down now," I gently pushed away and he released me. Arashi was now more tolerant over Tamaki and the twins, but he still shooed them away from me and Haruhi when they were getting too touchy or if we didn't like it.

"Speaking of sleepovers, you should come over to my house sometime Akari," Haruhi smiled at me.

"Really?! Would that be okay?!" I started jumping up and down a little bit from excitement.

"Sure, how about next weekend?" She suggested.

"You bet I'll be there!" I glomped on her.

"It'll be my very first sleepover! We should totally have a pillow fight like the one from today!" I was beaming. I then turned towards Arashi and gave him the puppy eyes, hoping he would say yes.

"Hm," he nodded in approval, which sent me squealing and jumping up and down.

"You are so cute right now!" Tamaki and the twins said in unison. I stopped in my tracks, and then I shot them a glare and cracked my knuckles menacingly.

"Say that again and you're dead meat, _punks_ ," I growled in deep, threatening voice. The three of them squeaked from fear at the same time, cracking me up.

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding! you guys are so funny," I laughed really hard while slapping my leg.

"That's not funny," said the twins.

"You did look really cute! But you also looked so scary just now Akari-chan!" Honey senpai is probably the definition of moe. Kyoya then adjusted his glasses.

"Seeing the success of today, I think we can allow you to help us deciding the themes in the future as well," he gave me that fake smile again.

"Great! I won't let you down!" I gave the Host club a salute, and we headed out after changing.

Unfortunately, on out way out to the driveway we got a text from Osamu saying that he and Haku had left us behind since we took so long. He also told us that from now on if we kept them waiting they would leave without us. Not believing what I was reading, I sprinted out to the driveway only to find that Osamu had been telling me the truth.

"Ugh, that impatient jerk!" I stomped my foot and huffed angrily. Arashi had a blank expression on his face, he didn't really care.

"We can walk," said Arashi.

"What?! But that would take _at_ _least_ an hour!" I exclaimed. He just shrugged, and was about to start walking.

"Do you two need a lift?" A cool voice asked us. I turned around to find Kyoya standing in front of us.

"Yeah, Osamu and Haku betrayed us and left us behind." I smiled sheepishly while my hand rubbed the back of my neck.

"I see. Your apartment isn't too far from my mansion, so it wouldn't be a problem for me to drive you both home." He took out his phone and quickly arranged for a limo to pick all three of us up, and hung up in less than thirty seconds.

"Thanks Kyoya! You're the best!" I raised my fist to him for a fist bump. He raised his eyebrow questionably and stared at my fist.

"What are you doing?" He asked me. I raised _my_ eyebrows this time.

"You never heard of a fist bump?" Seeing his confusion, I explained it to him.

"It's kinda like a high five and sometimes used as a greeting or a gesture to celebrate an accomplishment. It could also be a way to show that you're friends with someone. I mainly do the brofist with my friends to show that we're tight, ya know?" I smiled at him expectantly.

"You think we're friends?" Kyoya looked at me weirdly.

"Well, we can start now. Come on, don't leave me hanging," I motioned with my eyes for him to bump his fist into mine. He somewhat awkwardly curled his hand into a fist, and lightly bumped his fist into mine. I grinned at him. Just then, a sleek, black limo pulled up in front of us.

We all got in, and I told the driver what our address was. Kyoya didn't really talk to us on the way home, he was typing something into that laptop of his. I ended up talking to Arashi, and since my conversations with him were usually one-sided I felt like I was talking to myself. I eventually stopped talking all together. The last minutes of our car ride were kind've awkward and quiet. We arrived at our apartment complex, and we bid our farewells, and of course I got Kyoya to give me another brofist.

"See ya Kyoya!" Arashi and I got out of the car. I kept waving and standing at the sidewalk until he left, but Arashi walked away as soon as he had gotten off.

"Bye Kyoya!" I furiously waved my hand as his limo pulled away from near the sidewalk, and sped away.

 _During the car ride home, the Ootori boy had stopped typing and instead stared out the window. He looked down at his hand for a brief moment and made it into a fist. He slightly smiled, then watched the sky as the sun started to descend._


	6. Chapter 6

**Jungle Pool S.O.S!**

 _The Host club had been closed, so Arashi, Akari, Osamu, and Haku were all heading towards the driveway to go home. The three boys were planning to visit a friend of theirs at their hometown over spring break, which would leave Akari alone. Akari refused to go with them, she hated their "friend" but none of her brothers knew why since she never told them. Because they had no choice but to leave Akari behind, they suggested her staying with Haruhi for a bit. As the four of them continued to discuss their plans for spring break, they didn't notice the twins, Mori, and Honey sneak up behind them._

I felt an arm wrap around my waist.

"What the!" I whipped my head around to see Mori-senpai next to me. He had picked me up and was carrying me like a flour sack under one arm. I also saw his other arm, carrying Arashi in a similar fashion. I heard Osamu freaking out when he was grabbed by the Hitachiins.

"LET GO OF ME!" The twins had grabbed Osamu from both sides. He struggled to get them off of him, but they were holding onto both of his arms.

"Targets," Kaoru started.

"Captured," Hikaru finished.

"C'mon Haku-kun! Let's go have fun and play today!" Honey grabbed hold of Haku's hands, and he just smiled at Honey and willingly allowed himself to be dragged.

"Okay!"Of course Haku would follow.

The four of us were being dragged towards the driveway. Well, Arashi and I were carried. A black limo pulled in front of us, and the window rolled down to reveal Tamaki sitting inside.

"Good work, now take them with you," Tamaki said.

"Roger!" said the twins in unison. Then, Tamaki rolled up the window and drove away.

"HEY! LET GO OF ME NOW!" Osamu was getting angrier by the second. Arashi didn't care that he was being held by a giant as if he was some flour sack, and I just kinda watched dumbly as Haku and Honey skipped happily towards the two limos that were approaching us.

The first limo stopped right in front of us, and a chauffeur came out to open the doors for us. Mori entered and dropped us next to him, then closed the door. I wasn't that surprised to see Haruhi there. The twins forcibly dragged Osamu into the other limo, and Honey and Haku got into the same limo as Osamu and the twins. After all of us were settled in, our limo(the first one) took off and the second limo followed.

"What was all that for?" I gave Mori a perplexed expression.

"We're going to a water park," Mori said flatly.

"Well why did you guys pop out of nowhere and grab us? I'm pretty sure Osamu isn't very happy at the moment..." I imagined Osamu yelling at the twins, and it was pretty funny. He would probably rant on and on about how what they did could be considered illegal and the twins would just yawn and not pay attention to a single word he was saying, which would only fuel his anger and annoyance.

"Tamaki's orders, he did the same thing to me," said Haruhi. She wore a very annoyed look on her usually blank face.

"Well now it makes sense." I leaned back on the chair to relax a bit.

 _At the Waterpark..._

 _Akari wore a baggy hoodie and khaki shorts, but Haruhi wore an adorable one piece swimsuit that the twin's mother had designed. When the maids tried dressing up Akari, she fought her way out leaving Haruhi behind. She waited outside until Haruhi came out, and thought Haruhi looked really great in the swimsuit she had picked out. Tamaki later came and tried to get Haruhi to cover up and offered her a pullover. But, Akari didn't let Haruhi change out from her adorable one-piece. She snatched the pullover from Tamaki, and she also sent him moping in the emo corner for the first time. She was able to get him out by reminding him how adorable Haruhi looked. Tamaki now reclined on a beach chair near Kyoya. Arashi, Osamu, and Haku were all swimming in the pool with Mori and Honey senpai._

"This place is huge!" I scanned the amazingly realistic tropical water park.

"This place is a brand new theme park my family, the Ootori group runs. It's called the tropic aqua garden," said Kyoya, who was reclining in a beach chair while holding a beverage.

"Wait, I don't understand. I thought the Ootori group ran hospitals, and that they're focused on the medical business Kyoya senpai." Said Haruhi.

"Yes, but my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides, this place could be classified as a healing facility." Haruhi still looked doubtful.

"Its therapeutic; think about all the people who are overworked and who would love a vacation near the south tropics. However, they may not be able to get time off or they may not be able to afford it. Those people could take refuge here in this theme park and reduce their stress levels. The Ootori group's primary concern, has always been for the good health and well being of the general public. " Kyoya adjusted his glasses while Haruhi looked at him in disbelief.

"That's so cool! Is there a water slide here?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, of course," said Kyoya.

Honey senpai then popped out of nowhere.

"Haru chan! Akari chan!" He grabbed hold of the both of us.

"Do you guys want to share some coconut juice with me? And you look super cute Haru-chan!" He gave us his adorable smile.

"Sure, I'll share some coconut juice with you, and thanks." Haruhi seemed unfazed by his cuteness while I had to restrain myself from squealing. I could only nod while smiling.

"Yay!" Honey senpai took off giggling.

"Haruhi, Akari, do you two want to check out the water slide?" the twins asked.

"Whoa! Super cute swimsuit!" The twins gave Haruhi two thumbs up upon seeing her in an adorable, pink, one-piece.

"Hang on, what's up with the pull-over you're wearing?" They looked at Akari's attire in mild disgust.

"I can't swim," Akari smiled at them sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck.

"What? How come?" The twins slid over to her.

"Never learned, and I hate girl swimsuits to be honest. I don't have the body for it either," Akari crinkled her nose a bit imagining herself in a bikini.

"We could pick one out for you, and you don't have to swim you could just sit at the shallow side of the pool," the twins said.

"No thanks, I don't want to wear a swimsuit and I'm not going into the water. You both can't make me," Akari crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I'm not going to swim either," said Haruhi flatly.

"Why? You're wearing a swimsuit, you can't swim either?" The twins looked at Haruhi in confusion.

"Look, I can swim as good as the next guy but this isn't my idea of fun. I'm not that big on water parks, we're just gonna spend all day goofing off. Honestly, I'd rather be at home." Haruhi looked so tired, and it was very evident that she didn't want to be here.

"Aww, c'mon Haruhi don't be such party pooper! Have some fun! Swim! I would, but, like I said I can't swim. Could you have fun for me at least?" I rested my arm on her shoulder, giving her my 'please do it for me' face. She looked at me for a moment, and sighed.

"I don't really feel like it Akari senpai." I patted her head, which was covered by an adorable swim cap.

"I thought I told you to just call me by my first name," I smiled at her.

"Okay, Akari," Haruhi gave me a half-hearted smile.

"Haru-chan! Do you want to go swimming in the current pool with me?" Honey senpai had grabbed onto Haruhi's arm and was smiling up at her.

"Haruhi would love to," I grinned at Honey and I lightly shoved Haruhi towards the pool.

"Yay! C'mon Haru-chan!" Honey happily dragged Haruhi away towards the pool, and Haruhi looked back giving me this 'I can't believe you betrayed me' look. I chuckled and waved at her.

"Nice one," said Hikaru

"You actually got her in the pool," finished Kaoru.

We watched Honey jump into the pool, dragging Haruhi with him. My brothers scrambled out of the way, but ended up getting splashed anyway. Honey resurfaced, and Haruhi did too.

I approached Tamaki, who was blushing probably because of how cute Haruhi looked.

"Hey King, you should go swimming too," I grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up into a sitting position from the beach chair.

"N-no, I think I'll sit out this time." He averted his eyes from Haruhi's direction, his blush deepening.

"C'mon man, as her father you should be next to her just in case she drowns! My brother's aren't that great at swimming so someone like you needs to be there for her!" I'm pretty sure my words hit home.

"You're right!" He stood up with a determined look on his face.

"As her father I should protect her from those wolves!" He was referring to my brothers.

"Hey! My brothers would never make a move on Haruhi-" just then, we heard Haku laughing. Tamaki and I turned our heads in the direction of the pool, and saw Haku and Haruhi at the ledge of the pool. Haku was holding Haruhi's hand, and he was smiling at her the way Tamaki would smile at his guests.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention Haku is a flirt..." I smiled sheepishly at the panicking Tamaki. He ran over to the pool screaming, 'Daddy will save you!' And splashed in. Haruhi seemed pretty annoyed, and the splash wars in the pool between my brothers and Tamaki began. Honey still swam with Takashi, and no one noticed Haruhi climbing out of the pool. It was never boring when I was with the Host club.

I suddenly felt cold water splashing onto my face.

"Gah!" I wiped my face and looked up to see Hikaru and Kaoru with water guns.

"Haha, gotcha!" said Hikaru.

"C'mon Akari let's go! Let's have a water gun fight." said Kaoru.

"It'll be me and Kaoru against you. If you get it in the face, you lose. What do you say?" Said Hikaru.

"Fun, and the punishment?" I asked them, smiling evilly at them.

"If you lose, you'll have to be our dress up doll for a whole day!" Said the twins mischievously.

"And If you two lose, then the two of you have to wear chicken suits to school for one whole day," I grinned at them.

"Deal, but there's no way we would lose!" The twins grinned back, and threw me a water gun. I caught it with one hand, filled and pumped it.

"Hey Kyoya, wanna join?" I called to him while I was still preparing.

"No, I don't engage in such childish games," he was still reclining in the chair. I squirted a bit of water in his direction, a couple of splashes landing on his sleeve. He glared at me.

"Fine, be boring then!" I turned to the twins, and smiled at them.

"One, two, three, GO!" I sprayed first, but missed. The three of us ran around like little children screaming and laughing. I hid behind multiple things to avoid getting splashed, and the twins did as well. We chased each other down for quite a while actually. The two of them pointed their water guns and sprayed in my direction. I flipped over dodging them, but the twins aimed again and splashed me in the face. Darn it! I lost! I tried to land since I was still in the air, but my foot stepped on banana peel. I could feel myself sliding and gliding backwards, I failed my arms in desperate attempt not to fall. I couldn't really see where I was going since the water blurred my view. I then finally stopped when I ran into a huge pole thing with my head, and I crashed onto the ground.

"Ouch," I had landed flat on my face, and my voice came out muffled. Suddenly, there was a great rumble. I got up and looked over at the wave pool, where Honey senpai and my brothers were swimming. I saw a giant wave forming and going near them. My eyes widened.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" I screamed, I got up and tried running towards them but I slipped on another banana peel and fell on my bum.

Mori senpai tried running towards the pool, but he too slipped on a banana peel and fell down. We all watched in horror as the huge tsunami washed away the boys and carried them away down the current.

"Gentlemen! We're going to get Honey senpai and Akari's brothers! That looks like the quickest way! Charge!" Tamaki led the way and the other Hosts followed screaming warcries, except for Kyoya and I. I hurt my head and butt when I fell, and I haven't really recovered fully.

"Wait, I wouldn't go there-" Kyoya was cut off.

"There's alligators in there!" The group ran to the opposite direction, only to find more of the big reptiles.

"They're here too!" The group scattered around in panic for a brief moment.

"And here!" The group all gathered at a safe spot and tried to catch their breaths. I stood up and stretched a bit. Kyoya revealed to us that he was using us all as test rats for the theme park. Everyone, except Mori were left in shock and maybe anger. I frowned and grumbled an insult under my breath.

"Four-eyed nut-head." Unfortunately, I think Kyoya heard...

"What was that?" he gave me his fake smile.

"Nothing Kyoya!" I smiled nervously, and I followed the group in front of the map. Kyoya suggested the only way to find the missing boys was to go through the jungle, which had a lot of lurking alligators and undeveloped areas.

We traveled for a long time, the group becoming more anxious. I tried be cheerful for the group, but everyone was too worried. Mori senpai tripped about three times on a banana peel(banana peels are evil). After a little while longer, it started raining. We all retreated under a little covering, and Haruhi talked to Mori for a little bit. The sweetie was trying to cheer him up. Haruhi learned that Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai were cousins; the twins and Kyoya told us about how the Morinozukas had served the Haninozukas for generations until two generations ago, but Mori always made a point to accompany Honey senpai.

"Hey Mori-senpai, it's gonna be alright. I'm sure that Honey senpai is safe. He's a lot tougher than you might think he is. And if he gets hungry, the trees are full of bananas," Haruhi said.

"Yeah, don't worry too much Big Brother," I lightly punched his arm and gave him a smile.

"He's a national fighting champion, he will be fine. I'm glad my brothers are with him, otherwise they would be dead," I crossed my arms.

Haruhi of course had no idea, so the twins and Kyoya explained how Honey senpai was asked to refrain from unleashing all his fighting abilities, otherwise the other countries would feel threatened by Japan's secret weapon(Honey). Kyoya then made a phone call, and Tamaki remembered Haku's attempt to flirt with Haruhi from earlier and went all ballistic. The twins poked more fun at him, getting him more and more worked up. I noticed Mori and Haruhi walking out, and I didn't know whether to follow them or to stay with the group. After a couple of moments, I decided to follow but when I started to run out from the cover I slipped on a banana peel and fell on my bum. Again.

"Ow...What's with all these banana peels? I already slipped three times today!" I got up and brushed myself off.

"Oh right!" the twins grinned evilly.

"We won the water fight," said Hikaru.

"So that means you lost the bet, and you have to be our dress up doll for one whole day," Kaoru finished. The twins had snaked their arms around my shoulders, and continued to give me those mischievous smiles. I frowned and crinkled my nose.

"Ugh...why did I ever agree to this," I face-palmed. Dangit.

"You two shady twins stop harassing my other daughter!" Tamaki swooped me away from the twins and the three of them kept on being loud.

"Where is Haruhi and Mori-senpai?" Kyoya asked.

"I tried following them after they left, but then I slipped on a banana peel," I turned my head towards the direction I thought I saw them in. Kyoya then said he got his private police force to come to the park to search for Honey. But, he failed to mention that there were visitors. We all ran towards the forest, hoping to catch up with them.

Soon enough, we heard some noise in one direction, and followed it. When we arrived, we saw my brothers, Honey, Mori, and Haruhi standing in the middle a bunch of passed out police men.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki ran towards Haruhi and pulled her into a hug.

"I was so worried," he used his Host voice.

"Hey brothers, did you guys have fun?" I smiled at them.

"No, I was stuck with _him_." Osamu said grouchily while pointing at Haku.

"Yes! Honey is now my new best friend!" Haku smiled at me brightly, and Arashi just stood there looking stoic.

The twins poked the passed out police force and commented on how Honey senpai was really holding back. I begged Honey to teach me a couple of tricks, which earned me a glare from Osamu. All was well, and on our way out we all decided to go to the beach in two days. Surprisingly, Haruhi seemed more excited.

My brother's flight was on that day and in the same area as Kyoya's private beach. Arashi would be able to make it but he could only stay for the first hour. Haku and Osamu politely declined the offer to "hang out" as put by Tamaki. Osamu was really wiped out, being around people drained him of his energy. It was arranged for Haruhi and I to spend a couple of nights together while my brothers visited their friend, so as soon as we got home we were all in a packing frenzy.

 **Thank you all very much for the follows, favorites, and reviews. If there's a specific episode you guys want me to do, mention it in the comments. Next episode: The Sun, the Sea, and the Host Club!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Sun, the Sea, and the Host club!**

Well, we arrived at the beach but Kyoya surprised us; we had to host while we were there. I didn't mind too much, but I could tell that some of the other Hosts were disappointed. I was sitting next to Haruhi under the shade, we both observed the other Hosts. Tamaki was on a rock in the water with a customer, he had a line of other customers waiting for him actually. Kyoya was managing Tamaki's line, the twins were playing volleyball and running around, and Mori and Honey senpai were doing funny stretches. I chuckled to myself. Arashi was playing in the water with a group of girls, and he was wearing a T-shirt of course. He hated showing off a lot of skin, and his explanation sent a lot of girls squealing "Tsundere!" A couple of girls approached us.

"Akari-senpai, Haruhi, aren't you two going to swim?" Three girls wearing bathing suits stood in front of us.

"No thanks, I like watching the sea from a safe distance," said Haruhi.

"I'm afraid I can't swim! It's so embarrassing huh?" I smiled at them.

"If you aren't going to swim, would you two mind if we sat next to you and talked with you?" One girl asked dreamily.

"But why? Why don't you swim? You guys got cute swimsuits on you should show them off," Haruhi said. The girls went all blushy when Haruhi worked her natural charm. I smiled at them while winking, and gave them a thumbs up.

"I agree! You girls look adorable!" After a few minutes of blushing, they left.

Haruhi and I discussed miscellaneous topics for a good fifteen minutes, before we both decided to walk around a bit. We were surprised to see a bunch of shellfish crawling around, and while Haruhi and Honey were gathering them Mori senpai and I decided to approach some voices we were hearing behind a rock. We saw a truck with Kyoya's police force handing out shellfish. He told us that the police force wanted to make up for attacking Honey senpai and his friends and brought the shellfish.

"Heh, well Haruhi's really happy about them," I glanced back at Haruhi, she was having a really good time. Mori grunted in agreement. We walked back towards the others, and we saw Tamaki holding a crab.

"Tell me Haruhi, doesn't this crab look... _crab-_ tivating?" I chuckled a bit at Tamaki's joke. Just then, a tiny, adorable centipede crawled out from the crab, sending all the girls and some host screaming and running away.

"But it's so cute!" I walked towards it, but Haruhi got to it before I could. Before I could stop her, she threw the poor thing away from everyone.

"No! The poor baby!" I ran towards where it went, and I searched for it. It was smashed against the rock, and it was dead. I put on my sad face and turned around to the rest of the group.

"It died..." Arashi came out of nowhere and patted my head.

"It's just a bug," he said reassuringly. The twins were saying something to Haruhi but I wasn't really paying attention. We should hold a proper funeral for the poor thing. The crowd all came back saying how brave and manly Haruhi was, and how sweet I was. That made me smile a bit. I couldn't believe they were scared of such a cutie-pie...

 _The twins had made their way to Tamaki after the crowd surrounded Haruhi and Akari, some girls trying to comfort Akari regarding the bug. The twins and Tamaki discussed how abnormal the two girl hosts were, and how they didn't seem to be afraid of anything. The twins then came up with a game. The game's objective was to figure out the fears of the girls, and Kyoya joined and said the prizes would be pictures of Haruhi in middle school and baby picture of Akari. All the Hosts ended up playing, excluding Arashi and Kyoya. The other hosts tried getting Arashi to talk, but he claimed that he didn't know either. And the game began._

I walked in a cave with the twins, Haruhi, and some customers. The twins were telling us this really lame scary story, I even yawned a couple of times. Haruhi was unfazed as well. Then, they had to send the customers screaming after taking out a fake puppet. I comforted the girls by patting their heads.

"There, there, the twins were just being naughty you girls are perfectly safe." The girls calmed down a bit, and I walked them out of the cave trying to cheer them up. What were those two trying to do? They were supposed to entertain the clients, not scare them!

 _Later..._

"Uh Honey senpai, why are we going to sit inside the trunk of a truck?" Haruhi and I gave him the same, perplexed expressions.

"Is it okay to drive a truck like this on the sand?" Haruhi asked in a bored tone.

Honey ignored both our questions and dragged us in with him.

"Well, we're ready when you are private police people!" The doors shut, and all three of us just stood in dark silence for a little bit. After a moment or two, Honey lost it and we all had to get out again. Haruhi and I tried calming him as best as we could, who knew he would be claustrophobic?

Later, Mori held a sharp harpoon at out faces.

"Uh, Mori? You're my senpai, not Sentai." I think Haruhi was trying to crack a joke. I poked the sharp part gently.

"Do you fish with this thing?" I asked.

 _Later..._

I accompanied some girls up a cool, tall rock thing when the sun was setting. The breeze felt nice, and the view was awesome. We all enjoyed ourselves, and we called the attention of Haruhi below us who was collecting more shellfish. After a few moments, I heard some footsteps approach us. I turned and saw two men walking towards us. I frowned slightly.

"Hey! There are chicks up there man! Aren't we lucky!" The first one said. I stood in front of the girls, shielding them from the men. Straightening my back, I slightly towered over them.

"Do you girls want to hang out with a couple of the locals?" They ignored me and kept staring at the girls while inching closer and closer.

"This is a private beach, and that is no way to talk to a lady," I said calmly.

"Ever heard of sharing?" The other one sneered and tried to get around me. I firmly put my hand on his shoulder, and said in a cold voice.

"If you fail to leave at the count of three, I'm afraid I'm just going to have to teach you a lesson. Girls, get away before things get messy, and tell Haruhi to get the others." I gave the men a stony smile. The girls started walking around the men cautiously.

"You little runt!" The guy was about to punch me in the face, but I dodged easily.

"One," I said. The other guy lurched toward me trying to knock me over, and I tripped him. He crashed onto the ground and swore.

"Two," I caught the first guy's fist as he attempted to punch me again. He tried punching me with his free hand, but I caught that too.

"Three." I kneed him in the stomach, then I swiftly high-kicked his face, sending him crashing backwards. The girls screamed, and ran off. The two men stood and glared at me.

I punched, dodged, flipped, kicked. I delivered blows to their faces and torsos, but they were getting angrier and faster by the second. The two eventually had brought me closer to the edge. The two attacked me at the same time, one went for my head the other for my stomach. I was only able to dodge and protect my face, but the first guy kicked my stomach. I crashed onto the ground and grunted.

"Teach us a lesson eh?" He spat. The second one grabbed my arms and held them behind me. The first one seized the opportunity and kicked me couple of times while I was down. I gritted my teeth, and my vision was blurring from the pain. The first boy grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, and jerked me up to his eye level. He walked to the edge, I was hanging on to his wrists so I wouldn't fall.

"I've got an idea," he snarled.

"You wouldn't!" My eyes widened as I realized what he was going to do.

"Why don't you go for a swim!" He released me, and I fell backwards. I inched closer, and closer to the surging waves. I couldn't scream, I could only stare in horror as the jagged waves lurched towards me. My body slammed against the water, leaving me numb, I felt the cold and darkness enveloping me. I closed my eyes.

"Akari?! Akari! Can you hear me?" Whose voice was that? Was it Arashi? He sounded muffled...and angry...

"Open your eyes, now!" Commanded the voice, I obeyed and slowly opened my eyelids. Someone was holding me, their body was warm...I'm so tired. I saw a blurry mouth moving. Squinting, my vision cleared up a bit and I could hear the ocean waves.

"Akari!" Two pairs of hands touched my face, and I looked up to see Arashi looking at me.

"Arashi." my voice was a rasped whisper.

"You're alright..." His voice quieted, and his face smoothed over.

"I...I thought you were a goner..." his voice was shaky, I could tell he was trying hard not to cry. I hadn't seen him cry since kindergarten...His usually blank face was contorted with worry and sadness, then relief washed over his facial features. He wrapped his arms around me, and whoever was holding me before released me. I limply rested my head on Arashi's shoulder, who kept his strong arms wrapped around me.

"I'm okay now," my voice sounded pretty weak, but it was better than before. I felt a throbbing pain in my stomach. I winced and clutched it. Arashi released me, and I sat steadily on my own.

"You..you're an idiot," his face turned cold all of the sudden. The panic and worry that had laced his facial features were gone now. He now glared at me coldly.

"What do you mean?" I glared back.

"You shouldn't have tried to fight those two, they were two boys. What would've happened to you if we weren't there to save you?" His eyebrows furrowed. He tensed up. Tamaki also added,

"Don't forget Akari, you're a girl!" Tamaki wore an angry expression on his face as well.

"Tamaki, it doesn't matter if she's a girl. She was there and she did the right thing and helped. I would've done the same thing," Tamaki and Haruhi had their own argument now. I answered Arashi.

"Well what was I supposed to do? Run away and leave the girls by themselves? I had to do something! Are you saying that because I'm a girl I should just wait for some prince charming to save me?! I'm not some damsel in distress and you're not my knight in shining armor! And I did a good job beating those punks up. " My voice was laced with annoyance.

"Shut up!" Arashi yelled. Yes, he _yelled_ at me. I widened my eyes in shock, he has never raised his voice at me or at anyone before. Never. His face was shadowed in a dark rage, and he stood up and stormed away from me. I was in shock. The other Hosts didn't know what to say either, so we all just stared at Arashi for some moments in silence.

"Akari, how badly are you injured?" Kyoya broke the silence; he was dripping wet and sitting right behind me. I also looked around to see all the Hosts looking at me in concern. I looked down.

"Not horribly," I said blankly. Arashi was mad at me...

 _Later..._

Kyoya was helping me with my bruises, everyone else was watching with concerned eyes.

"I'm fine guys, really." I gave them a half-hearted smile. I saw Arashi in the hallway, it was time for him to go. He looked at me with a blank expression for a couple of moments, then walked away while dragging his suitcase. Even after he left, I kept staring out the door.

"All done. Try not to move around and apply this tomorrow," I snapped my head towards Kyoya, he was handing me some medical cream.

"Thanks Kyoya..." I took it from him, then I looked down, refusing to look at any of the Hosts.

"You all had us very worried Akari-chan," Honey senpai said with a serious voice.

"I didn't mean to...I'm sorry..." I grumbled.

"I don't think you should apologize to us," said the Hitachiins.

"I'll apologize to Arashi after he comes back...I think he just needs a little time away from me." I smiled at the twins.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. This is my problem so I don't want you guys worrying about it." I gently stood up and brushed down the shirt and shorts Kyoya lent me. Haruhi only had frilly dresses(her dad repacked her bags), and no way I was ever going to wearing those.

"I'm starving, what's for dinner?" I gave them a bright smile. Their faces still looked worried, and very solemn.

"Crabs," said Haruhi.

 _Dinner..._

Man, Haruhi could eat. A LOT. I looked in shock as Haruhi continued devouring more crab legs. I was still eating my _first l_ eg.

"Whoa, slow down a bit Haru," I patted her back.

"Don't you think you should go a little easy?" Tamaki said, he wore the same expression as me on his face.

"Excuse me, I thought you weren't talking us" Haruhi said to Tamaki. I sighed, and continued eating. Tamaki refused to speak to either me or Haruhi. Haruhi had sided with me earlier and defended me, while Tamaki had defended Arashi. Tamaki stood, and asked Kyoya to escort him to his room. The two boys left, leaving Haruhi and I with Kaoru and Hikaru, Mori, and Honey senpai. Haruhi stopped eating, and wore a pensive expression on her face for a little bit.

"He's partially right," Haruhi said. I put down my crab leg, and Haruhi did the same.

"Yeah...I was pretty reckless, and I caused a lot of people to worry about me. I shouldn't put myself in that type of situation, but I wasn't thinking straight." I looked up and looked at the faces at everyone.

"I'm sorry guys, and I'll apologize to Tamaki later. And to Arashi..." I trailed off. I remembered how coldly he glared at me earlier, we never fought before. I was still pretty shocked actually...

"Aww, we already forgave you a while ago!" The twins, Honey, and Mori gathered Haruhi and I in a group hug. Haruhi then said she felt sick, and so I rushed out with her to the nearest bathroom. I was in there patting her back while she puked into the toilet, I'm not going into much detail on that. She cleaned off, and we got out of the bathroom. Apparently, it was Kyoya's bedroom. Haruhi and I apologized for barging in, but he didn't seem to mind. I think he just came out of the shower or something, he wasn't wearing his glasses or his shirt, and he had a towel around his neck.

"Dude, my living room even isn't this big." I looked around his huge room.

"Rich people..." Haruhi muttered under her breath. She left the room, leaving Kyoya and me alone. Kyoya got back onto his laptop and started typing away. After a few minutes of me not saying anything or leaving, Kyoya got annoyed.

"If you don't want something get out," he sounded a bit grouchy.

"Um...Thank you very much...For earlier..." I said quietly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kyoya turn his head.

"You're a great friend to me and to everyone else. I know you may act all cold and mean but, I can tell you're a great guy. If you weren't, you wouldn't have saved me." I looked at him and gave him a genuine smile. He looked kinda surprised for a moment, but he reverted back to his old self in just a second.

"That's an interesting notion, in its own way..." he continued typing something into his laptop.

"Don't work too hard, goodnight Kyoya." I smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. I owed him one, I guess I'll bring in more customers. I headed towards the room Haruhi and I were going to share. I heard a clap lightning and jumped a bit in surprise. I heard Haruhi squealing from our room. I was about to enter, but I heard Tamaki's voice.

"Haruhi...Are you afraid of thunder?" I stopped myself from going in, and I heard some doors opening from the inside. I heard Tamaki's voice, but his words were muffled from the next roll of thunder. I took a peek inside from the slight crack, and I saw Tamaki and Haruhi hugging each other. A hand grabbed me. I stopped myself from squeaking, and saw Mori staring down at me. I raised a finger to my lips and pointed at the crack. He leaned over a bit to see what was inside, and nodded his head after seeing Tamaki and Haruhi. We both quietly tiptoed away back to the dining room.

"Where's Haruhi?" The twins asked in unison.

"She's making up with Tamaki, I wouldn't bother them," I smiled at them, then I grabbed hold of them both between my arms.

"Wanna play a game?" I asked them mischievously.

"Sure," said Hikaru.

"But could you let go? Our necks hurt," finished Kaoru. I released them, and suggested that we play truth or dare.

"Sounds like fun!" Said Honey.

All of us picked truth for the first round, and we all asked very easy not-embarrassing questions. After a few rounds, and after the thunderstorm cleared away, Haruhi and Tamaki came down to join us.

"You two should join us! Come sit!" I patted the empty chairs next to me. Tamaki sat happily while Haruhi looked unamused.

"Truth or dare Hikaru?" I asked.

"I'm Kaoru!" Hikaru lied.

"Very funny Hikaru. Pick!" I said. He grumbled something to himself, then he picked dare. I grinned.

"I dare you to grab an orange from the fridge and pretend you're madly in love with it for a minute." Kaoru laughed.

"Propose to it too!" I laughed with Kaoru. Hikaru huffed in annoyance, but got up to retrieve the fruit.

Tamaki, Honey, Kaoru, and I were all laughing at Hikaru when he pretended to be in love with the orange(convincingly).

Later on, Mori had to do the chicken dance for his dare, and Tamaki had to stand in a timeout corner for the rest of the game. We all had a lot of fun. Later, the twins asked me what I was scared of(of course). I told them that I was terrified of goldfish, but they wouldn't believe me. I ended up ranting about how horrible they were. I mean, they had HUGE GOOGLY EYES that just stare at you, and when they die they float to the top! I shuddered as I explained, and everyone sweat dropped like in anime when they realized I was seriously scared of goldfish. And I had reveal that I slept with Curry every night(my stuffed cat). The twins laughed at me of course, but I just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Honey slept with Usa-chan, and he let me hold him later! I glomped on him afterwards, he is so adorable(even though he's older than me...)Tamaki said something about me being a girl at heart, but when he hugged me he accidentally hurt my bruises so I had to shove him off. We all went to bed later on, and I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family!**

 _After the Host club returned from the beach, spring break officially began. Akari directly went to Haruhi's house by taxi after she had dropped off and picked up some belongings at her house. She found the apartment to be strange to be so empty; this would be her first time being separated from her brothers for more than a day._

"Wow! I love your house Haruhi! It's roomier than mine!" I looked up and around Haruhi's house, it was a little bigger than the apartment my brothers and I were living in. We would move soon, but for now(to save money) we would be stuck living in a one bedroom and one bathroom apartment.

"Really? But you have three older brothers." Haruhi was dressed in comfy home clothes, which was sweats and a t-shirt.

"We've shared rooms our entire lives," I beamed at her, then kicked off my shoes. After, I dropped off my bag on the floor and wandered in to explore.

"Which one is your room?" I scanned the house.

"That one," Haruhi closed and locked the front door, then she lead the way. She had an adorable bedroom!

"You know, I've never slept over at a friends house before," I said.

"Me neither. You're the first friend sleeping over at my house, actually." She smiled at me.

"Great! We can be first-time sleepover buddies," I slung an arm around her and beamed.

"What's for lunch?" I asked.

"We actually need to go grocery shopping, I've been meaning to go but then we had to go to the beach with the Host Club."

"Let's go now then! We can get some junk food there while we're at it. You have a supermarket a couple blocks away, right?" I wanted some pocky. And soda, and Japanese candy. And chips. I haven't had asian junk food for a while actually...

"Okay, wait for me while I get changed." With that, Haruhi retreated to her room and closed the sliding door.

I decided to wander around her house more, and I came across a photo of a woman in the living room. I leaned forward a bit to get a better look, and I realized that it must have been Haruhi's mom. Was her mom still alive? If she was I would want to meet her, maybe she would be as nice as my mom was...

"Hey I'm ready and, oh yeah. That's my mom. She was a lawyer." Haruhi gave me a smile, but it was more sad than her other ones. Her big eyes drooped a bit when she looked at me, and at the picture. She had come out wearing a pink dress over her white t-shirt.

"Was?" Oh no, was Haruhi's mom dead?

"She died a while ago."

"Oh..." Poor kid. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. We stood for a few minutes like that. I think Haruhi felt a little bit awkward about it though.

"You're really strong Haruhi, you know that?"She looked up at me with her usual face.

"You're strong too Akari senpai," she said.

"That's because my brother's were always there for me." I ruffled her hair and smiled.

"Lets go to the market! I need some junk food." I lead the way to the front door. Haruhi and I both put on our shoes, exited the house, and walked to the grocery store.

The store was pretty decent, and there was a lot of junk food for me to pick from. Most of the cart was full of the junk food that I had picked out.

"Don't you think that's a little too much?" Haruhi gaped at the amount of junk food I was getting.

"It's not just for me, silly. It's for _you_ and me. " I beamed, and we continued shopping. I caught Haruhi looking at a cute, plush, panda keychain, and asked her if she was going to buy it.

"Nah, it's cute but it's not very useful." She put it back.

"Whatever you say Haru, c'mon. There's more stuff over there. Here's the cart."Haruhi took it and went over to the dairy section to buy some milk. In the short span of time, I grabbed two of the panda keychains and raced to the cashier, and told him that I needed to buy them secretly. He thought I was a guy, and he told me that I was real nice buying a surprise for my gal. I arched an eyebrow at him, and batted my lashes and said to him in my girliest, kawaiiest voice:

"That's so mean. Just because I have short hair doesn't mean that I'm a boy," I pouted. He turned really red from embarrassment and apologized. I smiled at him and told him it was no biggie, and I stuffed the keychains I bought into my pants pocket. I thanked the cashier dude, and raced back to Haruhi.

When I ran back to Haruhi, she hadn't really noticed that I was gone. She was deciding which milk carton to buy, trying to figure out which one had the better deal.

"Go for the organic one, 2% milk doesn't taste as good."She went for my suggestion, and we bought all our groceries and left the store. It was hilarious seeing the cashier look away from me uncomfortably, he felt really bad about mistaking me for a guy. I laughed on the inside.

We were walking back from the store to Haruhi's home, both of our hands full of grocery bags. We were laughing and talking on our way back, and I decided I was going to give her the keychain later. We stopped when we saw a crowd outside of Haruhi's apartment complex.

"Is that a limo?" I squinted my eyes as if I could see better if I did that.

"Oh no," Haruhi's face went pale.

"Yup. It's them." I walked my way over to the crowd, and sure enough, at the center there were six handsome boys. There were several whispers amongst the crowd, some thought they were the mafia, others were wondering why young, rich men were hanging out in the neighborhood.

"Tamaki, what brings you to Haruhi's house?" Haruhi had stayed behind and was planking on a telephone pole.

"To check up on my two daughters of course!" Tamaki said loudly and flamboyantly. He then instructed the other boys not to be rude or ignorant towards Haruhi, not knowing that she had snuck up and was right behind us listening. Haruhi lost it after a while, and she demanded the boys to leave immediately. When the boys noticed her, they commented how adorable Haruhi looked in her dress. But then they scolded me for not dressing up like Haruhi. I was wearing my brother's old red flannel with a black hoodie over it, torn jeans, and a pair of red converse. My short, wavy, caramel hair was messy and unbrushed. Nothing cute or girly about me or my clothes. Haruhi on the other hand, her chocolate hair was perfectly parted to the side, and her bubble-gum pink dress made her look like an adorable little doll.

"Whatever dude."I said as I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring.

"Kyoya! Akari is using naughty boy words!" Tamaki freaked out, which only fueled the annoyance of Haruhi Fujioka. The boys wanted a tour of Haruhi's home, and she refused of course. But Honey brought cake, so we both allowed them in. Cake solves everything. The boys all muttered rude things about Haruhi's home(unintentionally?), and she ended up making tea for them.

"Mmm, cake. You know how to make a girl happy Honey senpai," I grinned at him with my chipmunk cheeks full of cake.

"You look so cute Akari-chan!" Honey senpai giggled, then continued eating his strawberry cake. I chose chocolate of course, chocolate always wins.

"Here, you can have my strawberry," Mori gave Haruhi his strawberry, which sent the trio(Kaoru, Hikaru, and Tamaki) squealing/complaining about not thinking of doing that.

After cake, the boys wanted to eat lunch with us. Surprisingly, Kyoya offered to buy lunch for us.

"Sounds great!" I said enthusiastically. But he later revealed that in the end, Haruhi was technically paying for it. The boys decided they wanted to go the grocery store, so I lead them ahead while Haruhi and Tamaki stayed behind.

 _After many complicated things regarding the Hosts meeting Haruhi's father and Haruhi storming off to the grocery store alone..._

"Why are we spying on her?" I whispered to Kyoya.

"Because Tamaki and the twins are scared of Haruhi when she's mad." He wasn't even trying to hide, he was standing out in the open taking some notes.

"Dude, you're not gonna be tested on what is sold in a grocery store. You don't have to take notes." I tried peering over to see what he was writing, but his handwriting was so minuscule I couldn't read it.

"Ugh, why is your handwriting so small?" He shot me an annoyed look.

"I can write whatever and however I want." He said. I rolled my eyes, and watched Mori push Honey on cart, Haruhi being oblivious as usual.

"That girl is so clueless...How can she not tell Tamaki is head over heels for her?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Tamaki is like her. He doesn't understand that he has romantic feelings for Haruhi and so he mistakes his affection for her has a 'fatherly' love. It's really quite frustrating to watch." Kyoya and I both observed as Tamaki was discovered by Haruhi, and I smiled when she let him carry her grocery basket for him.

"It's like watching a real-life shoujo anime..." I grumbled under my breath.

"Shoujo?" Kyoya gave me a perplexed look. I turned red.

"I d-didn't say anything-I-totally-don't-read-shoujo-manga-secretly-what-in-the-world-are-you-talking-about?!" I was a horrible liar. Dang it, he's probably gonna use this against me later.

"Interesting, I didn't think you were the type of girl to read shoujo manga." He gave me that cocky smirk of his and jotted more things down into his notebook. I made a frustrated sound at the back of my throat, my face really red.

"Please don't tell anyone, it's so embarrassing." I turned away. If anyone knew, it would ruin my 'tough' act!

"I won't." I looked up at him, surprised.

"Really?" He looked like he was telling the truth.

"As long as you don't do anything to anger me." He gave me a smile.

"I'll be extra nice to you Kyoya! We could be _best_ friends now that you know my secret!" I beamed then glomped on him. He tensed up; he looked startled(I had just suddenly hugged him).

"Sorry, I should've asked first. You don't mind right?" I stepped away from him, and laughed nervously. He recomposed himself, ignored me, and scribbled more things down onto his notebook. I shrugged, and I was about to catch up with the others until my cell phone rang. I fumbled around my pockets, which was full of candy, candy wrappers, buttons, and other miscellaneous things.

 _Cheer up and dry your damp eyes, and tell me when it rains._  
 _And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins._  
 _'Cause your heart has a lack of color, and we should've known._  
 _That we'd grow up sooner or later 'Cause we wasted all our free time alone._

I finally found my phone that had been lost in the depths of my endless pockets.

"Akari speaking!"

"Hey Akari! It's me, Haku." I smiled brightly after hearing his voice.

"Haku! I miss you already! How's your vacation?"

"Good, but...Is it possible for you to stay at Haruhi's house for two more days than what we originally planned?" My smile vanished.

"Why?" I asked quickly.

"Because Erai would be coming over and staying for two days with us, and we won't have enough room for you to stay with all of us," Haku's voice sounded sympathetic. I stood shocked for a few moments, I saw Kyoya glance up from the corner of my eye. I sighed angrily, and I said in a snarky voice:

"Oh I see how it is. _Fine._ I see you don't want me near you interfering with your _manly_ bonding, so I'll just stay away until he leaves. Have fun, _big brother_." I hung up on him before he could answer.

"Stupid Haku," I grumbled under my breath while crossing my arms.

"If I didn't know any better, you must be jealous that this Erai fellow is spending more time with your brothers than you are."

"It's not that..." I said calmly. He raised an eyebrow questionably.

"Then what other reason would you have for not liking him?" Of course _he_ wanted to everything. I looked at him in the eye.

"I don't want to talk about it at the moment. But if you're that curious, you can find out _half_ of the story after you look through some files. His name is Erai Yukimura." I walked back to the rest of the group.

 _Later..._

Haruhi was cooking us delicious stew, and I tried helping but I should never be allowed into the kitchen. I spilled water all over myself and I had to change into my batman pajamas. Surprisingly, Honey senpai and Mori helped. Usa-chan was left on the sofa, and no one dared touching him. So I ended up babysitting the twins, Tamaki, and Kyoya. I don't think they really minded me being in front of them in my pajamas, they've already seen me in them for the sleepover theme. The twins asked if they were the only pair of pajamas I had, and I told them that I actually had five pairs of the exact same pajamas. They looked at me funny. I let the twins and Tamaki play Mario Cart on my Nintendo DS, and Kyoya typed away on his laptop. The loud trio ended up breaking my DS after fighting over whose turn it was. They freaked out when it snapped in half, but I wasn't too mad.

"It's alright guys, you didn't mean it." I collected the two halves of the DS, while the loud trio cowered on their knees before me.

"We're so sorry Akari! Please forgive us!" I looked at Kyoya and pointed at them, confused.

"They happen to have seen your file, and discovered that your blood type was AB." I was even more confused now.

"What does my blood type have to do with this?"

"You have the same blood type as Kyoya!" Tamaki shakily whispered into my ear.

"Is there something wrong with my blood type?" Kyoya asked coolly. I was even more puzzled now.

"The Japanese like to link blood types with personality traits," Kyoya briefly explained where Tamaki and the twins were coming from.

"Oh? Hm...seems like I should do more research about Japanese culture..." I put away my broken DS into my backpack, but Hikaru happened to see my stuffed cat Curry inside. He snatched it before I could stop him.

"Hey! Give that back this minute!" I jumped at him trying to retrieve Curry, but he laughed and threw it at Kaoru before I could. Kaoru caught it, and threw it back to Hikaru when I leaped at him. This went on for about thirty seconds, me being the monkey in the middle. Even though I was the same height as them, I couldn't catch poor Curry who was being thrown across the room high in the air. Tamaki went about rambling how cute and girly it was of me to like stuffed dolls, and Kyoya watched the spectacle, amused. It took every ounce of self control for me not to snap the clones into two. Haruhi called to us from the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Dinner's not important right now! They took my Curry!" I whined to Haruhi while pointing at the twins accusingly.

"Why do you like this old thing anyway?" Said Hikaru.

"Yeah, it's so dirty and it has a lot of holes." Kaoru held Curry slightly away from him as if he was gross. I glared at him.

"Shut up! Don't insult my Curry! And give him back!" Thankfully, Mori popped out of nowhere and snatched it from Kaoru and handed to me. My face lit up like a child receiving a present, and I immediately grabbed Curry and snuggled him. I then smiled at Mori.

"Thanks Big Brother! You're the best!" Mori was about a head taller than me, dang, he was tall. Most guys were shorter, the same height as, or only slightly taller than me. I gave him a thumbs up, then I snapped my head at the twins and stuck my tongue out at them. I turned on my heel and went to the kitchen for dinner, still holding Curry.

Dinner was awesome, Haruhi's dad intentionally gave a lot of Chrysanthemum to Tamaki(who hates it). I refused to release Curry, so I ended up having to guard him the whole time the twins were there. After the Host club left, Haruhi and I watched the Disney movie I had brought. We watched my all time favorite, Lilo and Stitch(with Japanese subtitles). Afterwards, we had a pillow fight and then we shared our embarrassing stories to each other.

"Hey Haruhi, I have something to give you!" I jumped up and went over to my duffel bag and rummaged through it. I finally found the key chains, and I hid them from Haruhi's view. I sat down on her bed in front of her again, beaming.

"Tada!" I held out the two keychains in front of me. She looked surprised at first, then she slowly smiled.

"It's the keychain from earlier!"

"Yup. One is for you, one is for me. Matching keychains means that we're best friends right?" She nodded her head then took one from me, and got her phone to put it on. I did the same. Afterwards, we both held up our phones to look at the matching pandas.

"Hey Akari," said Haruhi.

"Yeah?"

"Is there a specific reason you don't like your brother's best friend?" I looked at her, she wore a serious expression on her face.

"You know, you're pretty observant for someone so oblivious," I smiled at her, then I flopped onto her bed. I patted the spot next to me, and she came over and sat.

"I never liked him ever. Period. He was always mean to me since we we're kids, and he's only grown more vicious over the years. Stay away from him Haruhi, his name is Erai and he has long, ridiculous, red hair." I glared down at the floor. After a few quiet moments, Haruhi caught on to my lie.

"That's not the real reason you dislike him." I looked at her in surprise.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Haruhi smiled at me. I bit my lower lip, feeling guilty about being dishonest with Haruhi.

"I'll...I'll tell you another time. For now, let's just have fun. We can go to the skateboarding park tomorrow!" I beamed at her.

"I can teach you how to skateboard!" Haruhi eyes widened.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it..." Haruhi said doubtfully.

"Pish posh, I taught a _lolita_ how to skateboard once. Teaching you will be no problem!"I glomped on her.

"Tomorrow will be so much fun!" Haruhi looked unenthusiastic, but I was still excited nonetheless.

 _ **Akari's ringtone is Rainbow Veins by Owl City by the way. Thank you for following this story! All of you seem to pop out of nowhere!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_Haruhi and Akari had gone to the skateboard park the next day after eating lunch. Akari made sure that Haruhi wore comfortable clothes and shoes in order to skateboard, and she had remembered to bring a helmet and a couple of elbow and knee pads._

I steadied Haruhi as she successfully wobbled forward on the skateboard. After about an hour of me having to catch her everytime she stepped foot onto the skateboard, she was finally able to go forward!

"I'm so proud of you Haruhi! Yeah!" I watched from behind as she inched her way across, and then she slowly sped up and came back.

"I didn't do so bad that time!" Haruhi gave me small smile before getting off the skateboard. I beamed at her proudly.

"All you have to do is keep practicing, and then you'll be great in no time!" Haruhi was about to respond with something along the lines of: 'thanks for teaching me but I don't really think I'll need to skateboard anytime soon,' but then a group of boys approached us.

"Hey! What are little boys like you doing at a skatepark? You two shouldn't even be allowed to come here." A pimply-boy with shaggy hair walked towards us with two other boys, who sniggered at his comment. I frowned, and straightened my posture so that I was eye-level with the leader.

"This is a public park, so technically even old ladies could come here if they felt like it. Now, since we're not getting in your way, how about you let us do our thing and you can do yours." I tried to be polite, but I made sure that I wasn't sending any mixed messages.

"Oh but this is a _skateboarding_ park, so if you don't know how to _skate_ you _shouldn't_ be here," he glowered at us. Was this guy asking for a challenge?

"Well I was just teaching my friend how to skate, we weren't doing anything wrong. An I'm pretty sure I can skateboard better than you three." Haruhi tugged on the sleeve of my hoodie.

"Akari, I don't think-"

"Is that a _challenge_ pretty boy?" He crossed his arms and smirked at me.

"It wouldn't be a _challenge_ to win against you." I gave him a cold smile. I saw him clench his teeth tightly.

"Fine then. Meet us at the ramps ten minutes from now. If you lose to me, then you two can't come back to this park." He and his friends sneered at me.

"And if I win, you three will leave my friend and I alone until the day you die," I gave them the "Kyoya" smile.

 _Ten minutes later..._

I stood at the top of the ramp with my helmet on and my skateboard under my arm. I glared at my opponent on the other side. There was a crowd of onlookers, mostly male. The challenge was to complete the most challenging skateboard moves in three minutes, without falling. There was a scorekeeper, who wasn't acquainted with either me or my opponent. All of our moves would be performed at the ramps.

"Skaters ready!"Called the timer, who stood next to the score-keeper. I set down my board and got ready to go. I was to keep to my right, and my opponent was to keep to his. If I bump into him, I'm out. If he bumps into me, he's out. If either of us falls off our board, out.

"Go!" The timer next to the scorekeeper started his stopwatch, my body immediately surged forward with the board underneath. It was exhilarating to feel the wind against me. I shot downwards, then the board zipped up the incline, leading me closer to the top. 3, 2, 1. Ollie backside 360 Big Air gap. Skateboarding was as easy as breathing, I've been doing it since I was a kid. I heard multiple cheers. I continued. I couldn't see what my opponent was doing, but I'd feel a gust of wind whenever he passed by.

Everything went by in a blur. I lost count of how many moves I did! Heelflip Body Varial Frontside 540, Dolphin flip, Foot Front Impossible, a 360, Illusion flip, and lots more.

"Thirty seconds!" I was almost at the top. I slightly smiled, this last trick would be one no one has ever done before. When I was a millisecond away from the top, I gently pushed my board back and slightly upwards, and stepped up onto the ramp. I threw my body backwards, flipping it. Time seemed to go slow motion, and I heard a number of gasps. While upside down and suspended in the air, I saw that my board was almost beneath me. I surged my legs forwards and made contact with it again. The timing was perfect. I was able to get back into the proper skate-boarding posture right before the board hit the ground. When I did, the crowd roared with excitement. I got off and kicked my board up and held it under my arm when I was around the center of the ramp, and smirked at my opponent who had been standing right in front of me. His mouth was open and his eyes stared at me widely.

"H-how? I've never-"

"Seen anything like it? Of course not. It's my own trick that I made up." I smirked at him.

"The winner is clearly Akari!" The scorekeeper as well as the rest of the crowd looked blown away. The crowd surged at me, and my opponent shrunk away. I was greeted with a lot of amazed, excited faces. I was a bit shorter than some, but overall they were all around my height. A brunette pushed through the crowd.

"Akari!" Haruhi looked at me with wide eyes.  
"Haruhi!" I pulled her towards me and gave her a one-armed hug. The crowd backed away a bit but continued talking to me all at once.

"My precious daughter! That was so dangerous!" A familiar voice rang out from the crowd. I raised an eyebrow and looked down at Haruhi.

"Is that Tamaki?" She gave me a sheepish smile.

"Yeah...I was worried that you might get into another fist fight so I called him, and he brought the entire host club." I patted her head.

"Glad you care about me." As soon as I said that, six familiar faces pushed a couple of guys away and came towards us.

"Akari!" Tamaki hugged me, which squashed Haruhi right in the middle. The rest of the Host club shooed the crowd away. The boys and girls in the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

"Can't breathe!" Haruhi gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" He let go of us, and Haruhi took in a big breath of air.

"That was so cool Akari-chan! But what if you fell and hurt yourself?" I looked down to see that Honey senpai had made his way to me.

"Since when did you start skateboarding?" Kaoru and Hikaru said in unison.

"Guys relax, I've been skateboarding my entire life." I beamed at them.

"Did you get to see how awesome I was?" I asked proudly.

"We arrived when the challenge had two minutes left," Kyoya said coolly while jotting some notes down.

"Skate-boarding is such a dangerous sport! As your father I forbid you to skateboard ever again! You can get seriously hurt if you make a mistake! A proper young lady should not be engaging in such risky behavior!" Tamaki started ranting to me, and I just smiled sheepishly.

"Look Tamaki, I can do what I like and you don't really have the right to tell me what or what not to do. I appreciate that you're concerned about me though, so that makes you the best!" I patted his shoulders reassuringly. His shoulders slumped a bit and he pouted, but at least he didn't go to his emo corner.

"That was amazing Akari, I didn't know it was physically possible to do all those moves." Haruhi smiled, and I grinned back.

"Thanks!"

"Is it possible for you to do a couple of more? I'd like to capture some pictures to put in our upcoming photo album of the Host club members. Also, Tamaki wants to take the two of you to the mall." Kyoya adjusted his glasses.

"Okay! But I'm only going to the mall if you guys buy us ice cream." Haruhi glanced nervously at the twins, who were grinning mischievously.

"Um, Akari? I think they're up to something..." Haruhi glanced at me.

"Don't you-" started Kaoru.

"Trust us?" Finished Hikaru.

"We just wanted to explore the commoner's mall! To become more educated about the poor and-" Tamaki broke out into one of his long rants again, and I pretended to listen while Haruhi openly spaced out.

 _At the mall..._

The mall was almost empty, Tamaki had reserved it for the day(of course).

"Thanks guys! This ice cream is the best!" Everyone(except Kyoya) had ordered and was currently eating their ice cream inside the shop, which was inside the mall. We were all squashed into one table. Haruhi sat in between Tamaki and Mori, and Honey sat next to Mori of course. I sat next to Kyoya and the twins. We were all squashed in like I said, so all of our shoulders were bumping into each other. Hikaru moved while I attempted to lick my cone, and I accidentally smeared it on my nose.

"Hey!" I glared at him. Then I tried licking the ice cream off of my nose, which was stupid and I probably looked funny.

"Sorry, let me get that for you," Hikaru leaned in to my confusion, and before anyone could stop him he had licked the ice cream off of my nose. I didn't really react, and my face stayed the same. How _was_ I supposed to react anyway? Tamaki freaked out.

"Hikaru stop harassing my little girl!" He pounded a fist into the table and angrily stood. Hikaru just shrugged and continued eating his ice cream. Haruhi pulled Tamaki back down and tried to calm him.

"Uh Hikaru, that was kinda gross," I said with an eyebrow raised.

"I know you liked it though," Hikaru said jokingly.

"Not really, now I have your cooties." I grabbed the napkin Kyoya offered me and patted the tip of my nose with it. He scowled at Hikaru. Honey and I devoured our ice creams and the cones, finishing before the others.

"So what do you guys want to do after?" I said while wiping my cold lips with the back of my hand.

"Look around of course! We've never been to a commoner's mall before so we'll have loads of fun!" Tamaki said excitedly.

"Is it true commoner malls have candy shops?" Honey asked sweetly.

"Yeah, most of them do." I smiled back at him. Haruhi was slouching and grumbling to herself.

We had a lot of fun at the mall. The Hosts all kinda scattered around and looked at what they were interested in. Haruhi was dragged off by Tamaki to the petshop, Honey and Mori senpai went to the candy shop, and the twins had gone to some clothing departments. I didn't see where Kyoya went, but I had my own place to go to. I raced down to the bookshop and entered. An old woman was reading at the desk, and she didn't really look up when I entered.

I quietly roamed the store, and came across the manga section. Peering around me to make sure that I was alone, I picked up a manga I had heard about called "Candy Heart." It was a new shoujo series by an author I didn't know the name of, but I heard it was really good. It was about a lonely girl who accidentally gets teleported into an alternate universe called Candyland! She is then surrounded by the land's most handsomest boys, who all are intrigued by this outsider and work together to protect and help her. They all eventually fall in love with her, and she has to decide if she'll return to her dull world or stay in Candyland with her love interest. I picked up the cover; it had the main character on it wearing an adorable, lolita-styled dress adorned in various types of candy. The background was of Candyland and giant sweets.I opened to the first page and lost myself in the story.

 _Sighing, Hotaru Kimura adjusted her glasses and continued with her homework. She had a splitting headache. She looked at the bag of candy she found in her locker left by a "secret admirer."_

 _"Who would like me?" She asked herself. Sighing, Hotaru assumed the bag of candy was just from a group of mean girls at school playing a practical joke on her. She flopped down onto her bed. Exhausted, she curled up into a little ball and felt miserable. She was lonely, had bad grades, and she wasn't very pretty. She closed her eyes and sleep captured her._

 _The bag of candy she had received started to glow. The light surrounded the entire room, and when it dimmed down she was lying down in the middle of a forest made of Cotton Candy Trees._

 _Fluttering her eyes open, she found herself in a pink forest smelling sugar-sweet._

 _"What in the world?" She bolted upright and looked around in awe._

 _"Where am I?" She stood up and wondered if she was dreaming. She pinched herself. Nope._

 _"What are you doing in my Cotton Candy Forest?" A boy's voice came from behind her. Turning around, she saw a slender, tall boy with white hair and magenta eyes glaring at her intensely. He had a beautiful face, and his outfit was strange. He looked as if a little girl had dressed him up! He was wearing a white, button up shirt with a pink bow tie, cream-colored overalls shorts, and striped knee-socks that resembled the pattern on a candy cane. He had colorful sprinkles in his hair, and boots that looked like they were made out of chocolate!_

 _"I don't know! What is this place anyway?! I was in my room one minute and now I'm here and-"_

 _"You're not from here?" He tilted his head curiously._

 _"N-no!" He eyed her Japanese school uniform._

 _"Wow! I've never seen clothes like this!" He instantly had made his way over to her and was touching the fabric of her shirt's sleeve in between his fingers. She looked at his face, it had looked so mean before and now he looked almost like a child. Their eyes met, the two stared at each other, and blushed after realizing their lips were almost touching._

"Typical," a cool voice said behind me.

I screamed and jumped. Without thinking, I slammed whoever that was behind me with the manga I was holding. Whipping myself around, my eyes widened realizing that is was Kyoya. Oh no, I just whacked him in the face with a book.

"What was that for?!" Kyoya barked at me, rubbing the side of his face. He gave me a cold glare that made me gulp.

"K-Kyoya you s-scared me! I'm s-sorry, are you alright?" I stammered as I looked at side of the face I had hit him.

"If I'm bruised I swear I'll-" he was clearly angry. It was the first time I've seen him show more emotion.

"I know, you'll tell everyone I like shoujo manga." I took his chin and gently tilted it to the side so that I could see if he was alright. His eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"What are you doing?" He asked. His left hand was still covering his cheek.

"Let me look at it, move your hand." He hesitated, then did as he was asked. I leaned in a bit and inspected it. The place I had hit him was slightly red, but since I hit him with the flat cover of the paperback it wouldn't have hurt that much. There were no signs of any bruises. I removed my hand from his chin and gently touched his cheek with my fingertips.

"Does it hurt when I touch it?"

"No," he grumbled, he didn't look at me. I cupped his face with my hand.

"Good," I gently "slapped" his face two times. He shot me an annoyed look, then reached down to pick up his notebook and pen he had dropped.

"I'll buy something special for you to make up for the face hitting," I smiled at him apologetically.

"No need, just keep bringing in more customers." He said, cool demeanor on once again.

"Geesh Kyoya, you don't have to act so cool around me. We're buds! So if you're mad at me, be mad at me!" I lightly punched him in the shoulder. Then, remembering that I was still holding the book, I placed it back where it was. Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you going to buy it?"

"Nah, I'll just read it online. It's cheaper!" I beamed at him, then grabbed his wrist.

"Let's look around more!" I dragged him out of the store, and ran straight ahead, heading towards the tea shop. When we were halfway there, he jerked his wrist away and glared at me.

"There's no need to run you know," he smoothed down his slightly wrinkled shirt, then walked ahead of me. I had to jog to be next to him again.

"Sorry, I get over-enthusiastic," I smiled sheepishly at him while rubbing the back of my neck. He ignored me and kept walking.

"Hey Kyoya, now that I think about it, you know a lot about me but I don't know much about you. Do you mind if I interview you?" I looked at him expectantly.

"I don't see why not," he said absent mindedly.

"So, what is your favorite color?" I asked him a safe question first.

"I don't really have a preference," he said nonchalantly.

"If you had to pick," we approached the tea shop.

"Dark shades of purple," we reached the entrance. The aroma of herbs and honey washed over us. I inhaled, then exhaled loudly.

"Welcome! Would you like to try a sample of our new tea?" A girl greeted us while smiling.

"Sure! What's the flavor called?" I gave her a charming smile. She was a head shorter than me, around Haruhi's height.

"Tropical Bliss," she said with the same smile. I glanced over to see that Kyoya had already made his way into the store, completely ignoring the worker. How rude.

"Sounds great! And sorry about him, he's antisocial," I whispered the last part. She giggled and poured me sample, then handed it to me. I took a sip, and my eyes widened. It tasted wonderful!

"My taste buds are having a party right now!" I beamed at her, and her face flushed a bit.

"I'll take a package! And another sample!" She happily fulfilled my requests. After I bought the package and had it in the bag, I went over to Kyoya so he could try some.

"Dude, this tea is amazing you should totally try it!" I held the tiny plastic cup to his face. He shot me an irritated look.

"The tea made here is unprofessional and low-quality," he grumbled.

"C'mon, it won't hurt just to try!" I gave him my puppy face. I made my eyes huge and watery, and I pouted just a smidgen. I've seen Tamaki do his puppy face before, and if Kyoya gives in to his puppy face he'll give in to mine. 3, 2, 1...

"Fine," he said with an exasperated sigh. He reluctantly took the sample and sipped it. He didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Well?"

"Not horrible," he said flatly. He walked out of the store once again ignoring the girl.

"Have a nice day!" She said with a fake smile plastered on her face. As I followed Kyoya, I gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about him, keep being awesome! Love your shoes by the way," I waved to her and ran to catch up with Kyoya.

"I think you're the definition of 'handsome rich jerk," I smirked at Kyoya, who glared at me.

"Remember what I said about angering me?" He said coldly. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Well I'm not _angering_ you I'm just annoying you! Boop!" I poked the tip of his nose, and he furrowed his eyebrows. I laughed.

"Haha! You're so cute when you're annoyed! It's fun messing with you!" I ignored his cold glare and happily skipped over to the toy store. I found Mori and Honey senpai there.

"Hey guys!" I waved, and Honey senpai rushed over to me.

"Come over here and look at the cute little figurines with us!" Honey latched himself onto my arm and dragged me over to where Mori-senpai was. I looked into the display case, and I saw multiple figurines of superheroes and anime characters. My eye caught sight of Mikachi, the main girl character in my favorite manga _The Prince of Roses_. I had to restrain myself from pushing up on the glass and squealing. Instead, I made a non-human sound at the back of my throat. Mori senpai and Honey senpai shot me concerned, confused looks.

"I'm just clearing my throat!" I laughed nervously.

"Do you see a figurine you want to buy?" Honey senpai asked curiously.

"N-no I-I'm haha...uh..." I stuttered and my face turned really red. I could almost hear Kyoya smirking at me from behind.

"Oh look! It's Tamaki and Haruhi! I wonder what they are up to, bye!" I raced out of the store to Tamaki and Haruhi, startling them.

"Hey guys how's it going?" I was trying to calm down.

"Why are you all red Akari?" Haruhi looked at me, confused.

"I was uh...running," I smiled sheepishly.

The group all re-gathered, and walked around a little bit more. The twins complained about how tasteless all commoner clothes were, and then later 'harassed' Haruhi to get Tamaki all worked up. Kyoya was scribbling stuff down as usual, and Honey had gotten more ice cream to eat and was sitting on the shoulders of Mori senpai. My phone buzzed, I got a text from an unknown number. Confused, I opened and read the message.

 _Hey Akari, long time no see. Just to let you know, your brothers and I just arrived in Japan! I hope to see you real soon. -Erai._

I clenched my jaw and my fists. I stopped walking and glared angrily into my phone. The rest of the group didn't notice and kept on walking. That jerk! After what he did to me he had the _audacity_ to act like we were friends?! I created a message.

 _Dearest jerk-face: I hate your guts and if you try to act all friendly around me I swear I will pummel your stupid face so hard no one will be able to recognize you. -Me._

"Aren't you coming?" I jerked my head up and saw Kyoya looking over his shoulder, the group was way ahead of me.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah." I shoved my phone into my pocket and jogged to catch up with the rest of the group, avoiding eye-contact with Kyoya. I'm pretty sure he knew by now that Erai was my fiance.

 _ **Thank you for all the following and favoriting! Feel free to review and check out my other story: Ouran's Lolitas.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_A group of attractive teens sat in a restaurant, waiting for their food. A short brunette with big eyes was sitting in between a loud blonde and a stoic boy with black hair. Across from them sat identical boys with spiked, orange hair, a "boy"with wavy, light-brown hair, and a raven-haired boy with glasses. The waiters and waitresses of the mall restaurant couldn't help but stare at the group; they have never seen such a large group of attractive guys._

"I love American food. Actually, I love food in general," I looked at the group, grinning.

"For a commoner restaurant, the service here isn't that bad," said the Hitachiins.

"For a bunch of rich jerks like you, you guys aren't that bad," I mimicked their voices while glaring at the twins. Haruhi chuckled from the other side. The Hitachiins didn't look mad though, instead they looked at me funny.

"Wow," said Kaoru.

"You actually sounded like us," finished Hikaru.

"Well I've been around you guys long enough to know what your voices sound like," I rolled my eyes.

"Can you imitate the other Host's voices too Akari chan?" Honey tilted his adorable blonde head to the side.

"Yup!" I gave him a bright smile.

"You know I really find it hard to believe that you're actually older than me Honey senpai, you're so much cuter than a lot of kids I've known. Sometimes I just want to cuddle you like a little teddy bear!" He giggled cutely.

"Could you imitate me Akari-chan?"

"Sure!" How could I say no to _that_ face? I did his twinkling giggle, switching to adorable mode.

"Hika-chan, Kao-chan! Do you guys want to eat some cake with me? It's reeeeaaaally good!~" I had glomped on Hikaru the way Honey would glomp on other people, and I gave him the adorable smile with flowers of moe sprouting. Hikaru gaped at me, then he turned away. Probably creeped out. I thought I heard Kyoya grumble something under his breath.

"Wow! That sounded just like me!" Honey senpai's eyes were wide from amazement.

"Yeah," was all Mori said.

"Imitate _me_ now!" Tamaki talked a little too loud. I let go of Hikaru and straightened my back, then I imitated Tamaki's big frantic eyes and tried looking completely childish. Flailing my arms as if I was panicked, I turned to the twins and said:

"You two boys stop harassing my little girls! MAMA!" I didn't say the last part as loud as Tamaki would, but I turned my head to look at Kyoya how Tamaki looked at him whenever the twins were messing with Haruhi and I. Kyoya had a poker face on, he had temporarily looked up from the notes that he had been taking.

The twins bursted out laughing.

"You even got his idiot face right!" Kaoru gasped in between laughs.

"Akari senpai, you really sounded like him," Haruhi said.

"I thought I told you to just call me Akari, we're friends!" I leaned back on my chair in a reclined manner, and folded my hands behind my head.

"Sorry, I'm still getting used to it," Haruhi smiled. I grinned back.

"Have you considered doing voice acting?" Tamaki said. I don't know how the guy always looked so sincere.

"Not really, but it does sound fun," my phone buzzed. Ugh. It was probably Erai. _Again._ I pretended I didn't hear it. When the Hosts became occupied talking with each other, I snuck a peak at my phone. He had been texting and calling me nonstop, which was _very_ annoying. Fifty missed called and thirty unread messages. How clingy was this guy going to get?!

"Whose that?" Hikaru rested his chin on my shoulder. I snapped my phone shut.

"Walt Disney," I flicked him in the forehead.

"OW!" He immediately got off and rubbed his forehead, which was red. He glared at me.

"What was that for?" He sounded annoyed. I just smirked at him, then stuck my tongue out like a child. He grumbled angrily to himself as he kept on rubbing his forehead. Kyoya looked pleased, as well as Tamaki.

"Your food has arrived!" The waitress had popped out of nowhere and was now serving our food. She wore a smile on her face, and she carefully set down some of our food.

"Nice!" I sat upright and smiled at the food while rubbing my hands.

10 minutes later...

"Well, I'm full." I burped loudly, my plate clean. The other Hosts gave me looks of, disgust?

"How rude," Kyoya shot me an annoyed look before continuing to eat his hamburger. He ate it like how anyone else would eat it to my surprise. I thought he was going to straight-up use a fork and a knife to eat it!

"You shouldn't eat too fast, you'll get indigestion," said Haruhi.

"Says the girl who ate fifty crab legs less than ten minutes," I rolled my eyes at her.

"A proper young woman shouldn't act like that! I'm just going to have to teach you some manners!" Tamaki waved his slender finger at me, scolding me the way a grandmother would.

"But I _am_ well-mannered. As commoners, after we eat a very pleasant meal, it is customary for us to burp loudly. The louder we burp, the more polite we're being. It's saying 'thank you for the meal," I said in a serious voice and face. Of course Tamaki fell for the prank. I saw Kyoya smirk a bit from the corner of my eye, nothing could fool him.

"Oh my! I'm very sorry then! Please forgive my misunderstanding. Gentlemen, you heard her! After we eat be sure to give the waitress the loudest burp you can manage!" To my dismay, Honey senpai, Mori senpai, and the twins seemed to buy it as well. Haruhi had caught on, but she didn't say anything. We shot each other knowing grins.

Sure enough, after everyone had finished eating their meals and the waitress came by, they all burped _very_ loudly(except for Kyoya and Haruhi). And repeatedly. I joined of course, and Haruhi smiled through the whole ordeal. The waitress looked horrified, but she still smiled nervously and collected our plates and gave us our check. She left us, _extremely_ confused.

"I think our message was clear!" Said Tamaki with a triumphant look on his face.

"Uh huh!" said Honey senpai. Mori didn't say anything and looked stoic as always. I grabbed the check so that I could pay for dinner.

"No no! Let us treat you! I'll pay!" Tamaki tried prying the check away from me. I held it to my chest.

"Look guys, I really want to treat you today. Even though I've only known you guys for a month now, you all have a very special place in my heart. I'm really glad we're friends, and right now this is the only way I can really show my appreciation for you guys," I gave them a natural, genuine smile. I had looked at all of them while I had been talking. Tamaki and the others looked stunned. They didn't really say anything for a couple of seconds.

"That's so sweet Akari chan!" Honey senpai spoke up first.

"So touching! We love you too Akari!" The twins glomped on me. Well, Hikaru glomped on me and Kaoru glomped on Hikaru. The weight led me crashing into Kyoya.

"Sorry," I smiled up at him sheepishly as I was being crushed by the clones. My face was squashed against his arm awkwardly.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, get off," he said coolly. They obeyed right away.

"If that is what you want, of course we'll let you pay! And Akari, you should know that you are also very special to us. And Haruhi is too!" The King had dramatically teared up, and he had grabbed Haruhi and started snuggling her. She looked unamused. I chuckled.

"Great! Besides, I'm rich so yeah." I signed the receipt, left the money(in cash) on it, and I left around twenty dollars as a tip for the waitress. I felt a bit bad about the burping thing from earlier. We all exited the restaurant chatting and smiling.

"Hey guys, have you ever had frozen yogurt before?"I asked curiously.

"What's that?" The twins asked in unison. I stopped dead in my tracks and gaped at them.

"We are going to eat frozen yogurt _right now."_ Without giving them time to reply, I grabbed the Hitachiins and started running toward the Froyo I spotted earlier.

"Follow meeeeeee!" I heard the other Hosts running to catch up with me. I stopped abruptly in front of the frozen yogurt place and hurled the twins in front of the entrance. They almost lost their balance and crashed into the door, but they steadied themselves.

"You could've been gentler!" The twins said in annoyance. I waved a shaky finger at all the Hosts.

"You must have frozen yogurt right now!" I pushed the twins, Tamaki, and Haruhi through the door. I knew better than to manhandle the other three, so I just smiled and gestured for them to step in.

"Is frozen yogurt like ice-cream Akari-chan?" Honey senapi asked me.

"Yup, but better since you can add a lot more toppings and combine more flavors!" I grinned at him like a child. He giggled and stepped inside. Mori and Kyoya entered soundlessly. I skipped inside once everyone was in. The frozen yogurt guy seemed surprised at the sudden arrival of customers.

I taught everyone how frozen yogurt worked, and that you could add whatever you wanted at any of the flavor stations. Honey senpai,Tamaki and the Hitachiins hung onto my every word and looked at me with wide, sparkling eyes filled with awe. Kyoya jotted some notes as he observed the store and listened to me at the same time. Haruhi listened attentively but calmly, like how Mori senpai did.

"Understand?" I asked the group after I had explained everything.

"Yeah!" The two blondes and the two gingers took off immediately, excitedly trying to decide where to go first. Kyoya went over to the seating area and took a seat, and Mori calmly followed Honey.

"C'mon Haruhi," I looped my arm around her's, and I looked down at her while smiling.

"I'm not sure if I can eat anymore, I'm really full," Haruhi said.

"How bout we share then? You can just eat a couple spoonfuls just to try."

"Sure," she smiled back and we walked off to pick our flavors. We finished picking after the others, and I went to the worker to pay. Haruhi went back to the seating area with everyone else because I told her to.

"I'd like to buy this piece of deliciousness please," I smiled at him. He had normal brown eyes, and shaggy black hair. He eyed me up and down.

"Of course," he weighed my froyo and determined how much I had to pay.

"Just out of curiosity, are you a guy or a girl?" Usually that question never bothered me, but...The way he said it made me feel uneasy.

"I'm a girl, but I get mistaken as a guy a lot since my name is gender-neutral and I have short hair," I said cheerfully. He scoffed and looked at me with disgust. My smile dropped.

"That's not the _only_ reason," he squinted at my chest area distastefully. My face turned red, but I tried staying calm.

"H-How much do I have to pay?" I asked as I looked away from him.

"1,808.77 yen" He still eyed me up and down. Although he didn't say anything else as I paid, I could tell he was thinking that I failed at being a girl. His expression said it all. I was unfeminine in every aspect. Sure, I was a pretty **boy** but...I wasn't a pretty girl. I didn't look him in the eye, and my face still was really red. I took the yogurt and walked back to the table.

"This is really good Akari-chan!"

"Picking it out was more fun though!" Tamaki looked at me like a happy puppy. I plastered on the smile I usually had.

"That's great!" I sat down on the edge next to Kyoya, it was the only open spot.

"Here Haruhi, try some!" I said in feigned cheerfulness. I shoved a spoonful of frozen yogurt into Haruhi's mouth, but she liked it. She ended up having to eat all of it, I told her I wasn't feeling too well.

"Did you eat too fast?" Asked Kyoya.

"Yeah! But don't worry about it. I'm fine, really. I could just drink some soda when we go home, then I'll be alright." I gave him my fake smile. The other's bought my act and continued chattering and eating their froyo. Kyoya would glance at me from time to time, but I just blankly started off into space.

Am I really that unfeminine? To the point that people were disgusted by me? Was...was I an ugly girl? Was I just so unattractive and unappealing that no guy could ever like me? I stared down at the table, the voices of the other Hosts became muffled. I shut out their voices, and only heard my own in my head.

 _So you finally realized it. You're unattractive and useless._

No I'm not! I have my quirks but everyone does, I'm me and no one else's opinion should matter!

 _But you're bothered by what that boy had to say. You're bothered because you know that he's right._

He's not.

 _He is. You know it. You're not a pretty girl, and you never will be. You're body doesn't curve in the right places and no matter what dress you wear you'll always look awkward. Accept the truth, don't deny it._

"Akari?" A voice broke my train of thought.

"Eh?" I looked up to find the Host club staring at me.

"Are you alright? You've been staring at the table without moving for a while now, and we're all done eating so we were about to leave," Tamaki's violet eyes were etched with concern.

"Yeah, just tired," I said casually while leaning back. I also yawned while rubbing my eyes; I'm a good actress, so everyone believed me.

"We should get going then, it's going to be dark soon." Kyoya stood, and the rest of us joined him. We walked towards the exit, I didn't tell them to throw away their empty cups on purpose. _Have fun cleaning that up, jerk._ I was the last one to exit the store. When I was about to leave, he walked past me.

"See you later, _flat chest_ ," the boy sneered. I paused for a brief moment, before walking out of the store without saying anything.

Kyoya looked at me with concern.

"Did he say anything to you?" Although he said it coolly and calmly, I could tell he was worried.

"Nah," I gave him a forced smile and we walked on in silence. The twins and Tamaki all chattered away with Haruhi until we were outside of the mall, in front of two limos that had been waiting for us.

"We will drive you girls home!" Tamaki declared dramatically. I gave him a grin.

"Thank for the free lift then!"

"Actually, I need to talk to Akari about next week's theme for the Host club. You don't mind if I talk to her for a little bit and take her home, right?" That was more of a command. Tamaki and the others gave him "permission," brushing off his request. I waved to the others goodbye until their limos were gone. After the sleek cars disappeared, I remembered that I had left my skateboard and my tea in one of Tamaki's limos.

"Fruit crackers! My tea and skateboard! They're still in Tamaki's limo!" I looked at Kyoya in panic. He raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"Don't worry about it, I'll let him know later. " He turned on his heel and walked away from me. Assuming he wanted me to follow him, I jogged to catch up with him.

"So...um...Er...Yeah..." Wow. Didn't I sound like a genius.

"We're going to a nearby café, I want some tea,"he answered my unsaid question. I looked at him as he pulled out his cell phone and called his chauffeur to pick us up thirty minutes later.

Huh, he's really good-looking. Well, all the other Hosts are handsome too but...I dunno why but he looks a little bit better...Wait! What am I thinking?! Wait...why is he taking me to the cafe alone? Did I do something wrong?! Oh no! Maybe he's still mad about me accidentally hitting him with a book...Is he going to send me to Alaska? I guess he is. Sigh. Living in an Igloo sounds pretty cool actually...

After he hung up, he shot me an irritated look. Oh...I was still looking at him.

"Stop staring at me," he said.

"Sorry!" I smiled sheepishly before turning away. We arrived in front of a cafe, and we entered. We were seated by a very friendly looking waitress, and Kyoya ordered green tea for the both of us and she left. I squirmed uncomfortably. He kept staring at me with his cold eyes that could probably freeze Elsa.

"Um...Am I in trouble Kyoya?" He looked at me, amused.

"What makes you think that?" He leaned back in his chair, and his hands were still in his pockets. He looked so reserved and relaxed.

"I dunno," I shrugged. Well, he doesn't seem mad at me. I guess I'll be alright. I sighed in relief. The waitress came back and set our warm drinks in front of us.

"Thanks miss," I smiled at her before grabbing my tea to drink it. She left without another word. Kyoya and I quietly sipped out tea for a couple of quiet moments. He broke the silence.

"Akari, something's wrong and I want to know what." Kyoya never stopped looking at me with his cool eyes of steel. I gulped nervously.

"N-nothing's wrong Kyoya, you're just being paranoid. I'm fine and dandy." I glanced at my tea.

"No you're not. And do you want to know how I can tell? You always avoid eye-contact when you're lying. I can tell you've kept on getting messages from Erai all day, and it's been bothering you." I blinked in surprise and I looked at him.

"Uh...Er...Um..." Great. I sound stupid. I looked back at my tea so I could avoid feeling less awkward.

"Yeah..."Curse Kyoya and his observation skills.

"Who exactly _is_ Erai? All I can gather from my sources is that he was a childhood friend of your brothers. I can't find anything that gives me a hint on _why_ you hate him so much! I can't find much helpful files on him at all other than he happened to live in the same Orphanage as you four. Tell me _everything_ you know about him and what his _real_ name is." His cool mask slipped a bit, he and he seemed more worked up than usual. Now that I think about it, Kyoya had been showing more emotions than usual today. It made him seem more...human.

"Oh, so that's why you brought me here. Huh, I thought you would've known by now. Considering you're one of the best stalk- I mean uh..." Darn it. I almost called him a stalker again. He noticed and shot me a cold glare. I smiled apologetically at him.

"You said I could ask you any question, that no question was too personal or embarrassing for you to answer." His expression softened. I remembered I had said that last month, when I first joined the club. I smiled at the memory. It felt like I had been part of the Host club my entire life.

"Yeah, I did say that." I looked at my tea so I could concentrate.

"I don't know what Erai's real name is; he never told me and I never cared," I said slowly. Kyoya listened attentively.

"He's the long-lost son of the owner of an advertisement business. While in the Orphanage, he's always been friends with my brothers, but not me. Ever since we were young he was always mean to me; he was super nice and sweet to my brothers and other girls, but he was always a jerk to just me. That's one reason why I hate him." I sipped my tea.

"What's his father's name?" He asked.

"Akio Yukimura," I said nonchalantly. His eyes lit up in recognition.

"Erai's real name is Iwao," I shrugged my shoulders when he said that. Then I continued.

"Reason number two: he ruined a friendship I had with my only girl friend. She and I, we were practically sisters. But, she always had this huge crush on Erai. Because she liked Erai so much, I reluctantly agreed to help her with her love life. She was too chicken to confess her feelings for him, so she asked me to tell Erai that she liked him." I was looking at Kyoya straight in the eyes now.

"So I told him for her, since that's what she wanted me to do. Erai said that he liked her back to me. He said he wanted to tell her himself, so he asked me for help. He was lying. I didn't know it at the time of course, I was just so overly excited for the two of them. I agreed to help him, because I thought he actually was romantically interested in my friend. I pushed aside hard feelings from the past, and So he asked me to meet him someplace. I was stupid and trusted I didn't know was that he had left note for my friend to meet him at the same place he told me to meet him. My friend and I both didn't know that he asked both of us to come. When I arrived, Erai told me that he was going to practice confessing for my friend and asked me to pretend to be her. I agreed because I was stupid. Anyways, my friend saw and she never forgave me for that, she's never talked or contacted me since. Erai's father came for him when my brother's and I were about to leave for Japan, and my friend is still living in the Orphanage." I was angrily glaring back at my tea again.

"When I confronted Erai about it, he told me that he's liked me ever since we were kids. Erai also said that he was jealous that I only spent time with her, so he split us up so that he could 'have me for himself.' He's such a disgusting, selfish, snot. If he really liked me, he wouldn't tear away someone who was important to me." I tried to be calm.

"Is he actually infatuated with you?" Kyoya wore a serious expression on his face.

"No. He just finds me intriguing since I was never head-over-heels for him like every girl in the Orphanage. He doesn't view girls as people, he views them as objects. In other words, he's a sexist jerk." I nearly snarled the last part. After calming down, I looked up at Kyoya.

"Reason number three, he's my fiance." I had lowered my voice when I said that. Kyoya's eyes widened from surprise. He really didn't know? Oh wait...the marriage wasn't "official" yet so it wasn't documented on paper.

Kyoya didn't say anything for a little bit. He wore a pensive expression on his face, and then it was replaced with an angry one.

"What do you mean he's your _fiance_?" He nearly spat out his words.

"My brothers and I will all be married off after two years. I didn't find out until two days ago, when my father called me. My brothers don't know yet. I don't want to marry him Kyoya...But...I can't go against the wish of my father." His anger vanished. I don't know how to describe the emotion that settled on his face.

"I...I understand," he looked serious.

"After all he's done to me, he still has the _audacity_ to think that I'll fall for him. I can't stand hearing his name but right now he's staying at my house with my brothers. It...it sickens me," I muttered my words while looking out the window.

"Why don't you tell your brothers?" Kyoya asked.

"They won't believe me. In their presence, Erai has been nothing but an innocent puppy. Only I've seen him in his true form. You...you believe me...right?" I turned my head and looked at Kyoya. He still looked cool and collected, but I knew that he understood what I was feeling.

"There isn't a reason not to believe you. You're usually honest, and I can tell that you're being truthful right now."I smiled at him. Things seemed to have changed between us all in just one day! Yesterday, I couldn't have imagined Kyoya playing the role of my diary.

"Well, now I've burdened you with my problems. Well, you kinda made me, but...it feels nice. It's like a weight's been lifted off me. Thanks Kyoya." I gave him a sincere smile. His features softened.

"No problem," he said calmly.

Our limo ride home was pretty quiet. I stared out the window, and I had to pinch myself a couple of times so that I wouldn't fall asleep. We stopped in front of Haruhi's house. Kyoya and I got out of the limo.

"Thanks again Kyoya, I owe ya one." I held out my fist. He slightly smiled, and curled his hand into a fist. He bumped his knuckles into mine. I don't know why, but my heart suddenly started to beat a lot faster when he did. He had really smooth skin...I beamed at him.

"Goodnight Kyo, I'll see ya later." He arched his eyebrow after hearing his nickname. I waved at him before jogging up the stairs and stopping in front of Haruhi's door. Why was my face red? I only blushed when I was angry or embarrassed...

 **I've started a new original story on called _Cute City_. If any of you are interested, please feel free to read it. Also thank you all very much for following, favoriting and reviewing this fanfic!**


	11. Chapter 11

I groggily opened my sleepy eyes. Ugh, what time is it even? I fumbled around and found my cellphone, I squinted next to me to see Haruhi sleeping peacefully. I'd been sleeping over at house for a total of two days, and I had to stay for three days more. Haruhi and her dad were cool with it, but I still felt like a freeloader. I probably had to do something special for them...I flipped open my sky-blue phone, the cute panda keychain that matched Haruhi's still dangling. 256 missed calls and messages. Some from my brothers, some from Erai. I scrolled through some of them.

 _I know you're mad, but please pick up the phone and answer. Haku is especially worried about you. And I think it's really rude of you to keep ignoring all of us like this. -Osamu_

 _Akkkkkaaaaarrrriiiiii! I'm sooooooorrrryyyyyyyyy! Please don't be mad at me! Big Brother is soooorrryyyyy!-Haku_

 _Are you done with your childish games yet?-Osamu._

 _I wonder how adorable your pathetic, little, angry face is right now. -Erai._

 _We need to talk, meet me later?-Arashi._

Scrolling through some of the messages, Arashi had only sent me three. Most of them were from Haku and Erai. I composed a message, and I added my brothers as the recipients.

 _Please stop spamming me with all of your messages; I'm doing just fine thank you very much. And I'm not coming home until Erai gets his ugly face out of Japan._

I didn't expect a response of course, it was two in the morning. Sighing, I set my phone down and collapsed back down on the futon I was sleeping on next to Haruhi. It's been a long, strange day. There were a lot of good parts when I spent time with the Host club, but a lot of annoying parts too. Like the constant calls and messages I was getting, and that jerkface employee from the Frozen Yogurt place. Well, Kyoya was especially nice. I smiled when I remembered how I had smacked him in the face with the manga. It was terrifying but funny at the same time.

Now that I think about it, Kyoya has a really nice face...gray eyes? How in the world does he have gray eyes when he's Japanese? Well...Tamaki has purple eyes...now that I think about it, the Hitachiins have impossible eye colors too! Hm...at least they all have normal hair color...Huh, I wonder what Kyoya's hair feels like...It looks so silky and fluffy, I just want to touch-what the?! Why am I thinking about his hair?! What is _wrong_ with me?!

I abruptly sat up in panic, and I pinched my cheeks a couple of times. Get a hold of yourself Akari, what is going on with you?

 _I touched Kyoya's face today didn't I? It was so nice and soft...and smooth...He's gorgeous!_

STOP IT!

 _Oh come on, he's very attractive and you know it Akari. C'mon, admit it, he looks perfect._

Heat was rising to my face; was I blushing? Oh no. No way. I can't be, can I? I placed my hand on where my heart would be. It was beating a lot faster than usual. I can't like Kyoya! It's just hormones, yeah! Hormones...I'm a hormonal teenager so having weird feelings was normal. I've never liked anyone before, so it wouldn't make sense if I did now...

I lied back down, and tried to get some sleep. After a few difficult minutes, I slipped into unconsciousness.

 _"It's all your fault your mother died," my father was staring at me with such a hollow expression. He looked nothing more then an empty mannikin, devoid of life. His glassy, vacant eyes stared back at me like a China doll's._

 _"Daddy?" my eight-year old self only came up to his waist. The present me was trapped behind a glass wall._

 _"No it wasn't my fault! It was an accident!" I screamed at the wall and pounded on it, and kicked it. No luck. The two figures didn't hear me. My father leaned down to my past me, and said in a cold voice:_

 _"Don't call me that anymore. You are to refer to me as 'Sir' from now on. Do you understand?" The child me whimpered before looking down._

 _"Yes Sir," her voice was barely a whisper._

 _"NO! I **don't** understand!" My entire body was trembling. They still didn't know I was there._

 _"I'm sending you to America. You will live in an Orphanage until I call you four back. I've already talked to your older brothers about it. You be a good girl, alright?" He had stood up, and was ready to leave the room. His expression hadn't changed at all._

 _"I don't want to go Sir," whispered the child._

 _"What did you say?" His voice grew harsh._

 _"Yes Sir," the girl said softly, her lower lip quivered. Without another word or glance, the tall man walked out of the room. It would be the last time I would see him for another nine years. The child whimpered before collapsing onto the floor and started to cry. I swallowed and gritted my teeth. All of my anger and frustration surged through my body at once, and I punched the wall with all the strength I had. The glass cracked, I punched the same place again. This time, my fist broke through. The clattering sound of breaking glass echoed across the room. The shattered shards skidded across the floor as it rained down. The little girl looked up in surprise, face tear-streaked and eyes red._

 _"Who are you?" She asked timidly, my expression softened. I bent down onto my knees, eye-level with her._

 _"I'm you." I said calmly._

 _"You're me?" She tilted her head in confusion._

 _"Yes, from the future." Her eyes widened._

 _"How were you able to come here?" She asked._

 _"Because we're in a dream right now." She said nothing._

 _"Listen, don't wait for him. He's not coming back, he's dumping you and your brothers in an Orphanage so that he won't have to look at you." She winced._

 _"I know..." she said softly._

 _"I know you know. That's why I'm going to tell you this," she waited to see what I had to say._

 _"You do whatever makes you happy. You don't need someone like **him** to be happy, your older brothers will always take care of you and love you. If you have any problems in life, only consider what **you** want. Not what your father wants, what you want. Be strong and smile. You'll make it because **you're not alone**. Okay?" Silence. I stared back at the past me, and the past me grew older, and older, and older. The "past me" was now just my reflection. I blinked in surprise. I silently stared back at my own reflection._

 _"Okay," I whispered to myself. Everything dispersed, and a bright light appeared. It grew bigger and brighter, bigger and brighter until all I could see was blinding white. I closed my eyes. When I opened them,_ _I was standing in a middle of a field covered in snow, and yet I wasn't cold._

 _"Hello?" I looked down, I was barefoot and was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. I heard something in the distance, so I jerked my head towards it._

 _I heard lovely notes of a piano playing, the melody had a hypnotizing effect. The lovely notes pulled my feet towards it, and I yearned to hear more of the fading music. Walking turned into jogging, and jogging turned into sprinting. Each footstep kicked up the powdery, pure snow and left deep footprints. I felt bad for trudging across such an untainted, untouched field blanketed with white, but I just had to hear more of the intoxicating harmony. Like a siren's spell, the piano's song pulled me towards it, and I ran like a mad man. I ran as if I was going insane if I couldn't hear more of the enchanting music. The notes stopped fading, and instead they grew louder and more powerful. I stopped running when I saw a white piano in front of me, and a gentleman perched on the seat and fingers gliding across the keys. A black mask shrouded his face, his features were indistinguishable._

 _"So you've come," said a familiar voice. The gentlemen's hair was black as midnight._

 _"Who are you?" I rasped through breaths. He only smiled, and everything around me started to disintegrate into white butterflies._

 _"Wait!" I lurched forward trying to reach him, but he dissipated into hundreds of butterflies as well. I fell through nothingness, I fell down, and down, and down into an endless black pit. The butterflies fluttered away, up and up and up. Gone forever from my reach, unattainable. Even so, as I kept falling and as the shadows engulfed me, I still reached out in desperation, thinking that if I reached far enough, I could catch even just one of the snow-winged creatures. The shadows shrouded me, and my vision gradually faded until all I could see was black._

"Akari!" A hand roughly shook me. I opened my eyes, breathless and sweaty.

"Akari! Are you alright? I think you were having a nightmare!" I looked to my right to see Haruhi looking down at me, concern in her round eyes. I opened my lips to speak, but only air rasped out. I looked at my arm, to see that it was reaching upwards. I put it down, and tried sitting up. Haruhi helped me.

"What happened?" I rasped out, still out of breath.

"You were reaching out, and it sounded like you were a hard time breathing, do you need water?" Haruhi had already stood up, prepared to fetch me a glass. I nodded. When she left, I wiped some sweat off of my forehead with my arm. Haruhi came back and handed me the glass.

"Thanks," my voice sounded hoarse. I drank the cool water. My throat felt much better, a lot less dry than before.

"I'm okay, it was just a dream," I smiled reassuringly at Haruhi, who nodded her head. That dream I had...It was...I pondered about it for a few moments, unsure of what to think of it. Haruhi broke the silence of the room.

"Let's eat some breakfast, I'll prepare it." Haruhi smiled at me, before exiting the room to get ready to start another day.

 _Later..._

"Tamaki, shut it I'm trying to watch the movie!" I whispered harshly to the blonde king. He slightly whimpered, but quieted down. The rest of the Hosts were watching quietly.

Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, and Tamaki were to my left, and Kyoya, Mori senpai, and Honey senpai were to my right. We were taking up almost the entire row of the movie theater. How did we all end up watching a movie you ask? Well...

 _Flashback..._

 _Haruhi and I spent a relaxing day at home; we studied, did homework, talked, did some chores, cooked, read some books, and talked some more at her home. Later in a conversation, we mentioned movies. There's a new time travel movie that came out that I had been meaning to see for a long time, and Haruhi said there was a nearby cinema where we would be able to see it. Haruhi then revealed that she had never gone to the movies before, so I insisted that we went right away! When we arrived, the guy said all tickets were sold out. And it was the last day that "Unraveled" was ever going to be aired! I was so angry! Haruhi said that it was alright but I refused to give up so easily. So I did the smart thing, calmed down, and called Kyoya. He said to wait where I was at, and in ten minutes a limo pulled up. Of course, the entire Host club had followed along. Kyoya negotiated with the worker, and we ended up having an entire room for ourselves._

"Rich people..." Haruhi was grumbling to herself. I think she was talking about me that time too. Haha, the club and it's "rich people" attitude must me rubbing off on me...

"Oh by the way, thanks for renting out the entire movie room," I whispered to Kyoya as I put more popcorn into my mouth. He just grunted and continued watching the movie in boredom. It was a new American movie about a boy who received a ball of yarn. Every time he pulled on it, he would go forward in time but he couldn't put it back in. It was based off of an old fairy tale from a long time ago. Anyway, something does wrong and the yarn unravels by itself, and he keeps just getting older and older until the yarn eventually unravels. Hence the title, "Unraveled." We were only in the middle of the movie.

"What kind of movie is this?" Kyoya grumbled to himself. I shoved some popcorn in his mouth so he'd shut up. Man, it was getting intense! Epic battle between time monsters? I didn't know that was part of the film! I felt a pair of cold eyes glaring at me. I ignored them, too immersed into the story.

We watched the movie for another hour. In the end, the young man meets the mysterious man who gave him the yarn in the first place. The mysterious man was actually his future self!

"Good work, this time things ended happily," the future man smiled before he faded away as the sun rose. The screen faded to black, and read "The end."

"Whaa?"Tamaki stared at the screen, utterly lost.

"What kind of ending is that?" Asked the twins.

"I don't understand," said Haruhi.

"Oh my gosh!" I squealed while I jumped up.

"That makes so much sense!" The Hosts and Haruhi all gave me confused looks, obviously wanting me to explain.

"Okay, so as you all know that time travel can be very confusing business," I started. A couple of heads nodded.

"That man was the future version of the main character! Now, a future self and the past self cannot be in the same universe, otherwise it would rip the time continuum. So, that means that the future self was from another dimension where he had an unhappy ending where his entire life unraveled away. But, he was somehow able to time travel backwards once more right before he died so he still had some time left to fix his mistake. So, he jumped into another dimension or universe where his other self existed and made sure that he was able to get himself a better ending. Once that happened, the future self disappeared because he merged with the main character or his "past self," so he didn't "exist" at the time anymore. But, in the future the main character will become the "future self " or that man that disappeared!" My rant seemed to have only confused poor Tamaki even more.

"Well now it makes sense," Kyoya said coolly as he stood.

"I'm still kinda confused Akari-chan!" pouted Honey senpai. Mori grunted to agree with him.

"That was a weird movie," said Kaoru.

"We didn't like it," finished Hikaru.

"Well now I know what my new favorite movie is!" I said passionately.

"Unraveled is by far the best movie I've seeeeennnn!" I had perched one of my legs on the chair in front of me and struck a dramatic pose.

"You're acting a lot like Tamaki you know," Haruhi said with a monotone voice. I smiled sheepishly before calming down.

"Sorry, I get hyper!" I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.

The Host club was nice enough to take us home, but they decided to hang out for a little bit more. Haruhi said she liked the movie even though it was a little confusing.

"Hey, we should play truth or dare again," said Hikaru.

"If that's what y'all want," I stuffed more chips into my mouth.

"Um Akari? That's your fifth bag of chips today..." Haruhi shot me a concerned look. I shrugged.

"Meh." I offered her some. She politely declined, and we all sat down in a circle to start playing.

"I want to go first!" Honey senpai giggled.

"Takashi! Truth or dare?" Honey senpai plopped himself next to me, Usa-chan in his lap.

"Truth," Mori said stoically. He was sitting completely still, like a statue.

"If you had to date either Akari of Haruhi, who would you pick and why?" A mischievous, almost evil glint had appeared in Honey senpai's eyes. His question shocked almost everyone, and Tamaki was already visibly distressed. Even Mori senpai seemed surprised by Honey senpai's question.

"I pick dare," Mori said.

"Nuh-uh! You can't change your choice, it's the game's rule," said Honey senpai. Everyone waited for Mori's response, and Haruhi and I gave each other nervous glances. Silence for a few moments.

"A-Akari..." His face looked embarrassed. Everyone gasped. The Hitachiins bursted out laughing, and they did the mature thing of course.

"Mori and Akari sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" His facial expression was blank, but I could tell he was annoyed.

"I'm flattered!" I gave him a boyish grin, and he gave me a slight smile.

"And why would you pick Akari?" Honey glanced between me and Mori, I shot him a confused look. What was he trying to do anyway?

"Because Tamaki would die if I dated Haruhi," Mori said in a monotone voice.

"No! You can't date Akari or Haruhi! As their father I forbid you to!" Tamaki was in the hysterics, and he had wrapped his arms around our necks protectively.

"Chill Tamaki, it's just a stupid question he's not dating me for reals." I arched one eyebrow at him.

"How are you _not_ disturbed by the fact that he's calling himself our father?" Haruhi was struggling to get out of Tamaki's grasp, her face slightly pink. I pretended I didn't notice, but in my head I came up with a new plan I was going to share with everyone else. Operation Tamaki and Haruhi go on a date.

After Tamaki calmed down, we continued our game. Mori dared Hikaru to pick his nose, and it was gross but hilarious. Hikaru chased Kaoru around with his boogie finger. But they calmed down and Hikaru went to the bathroom to wash his hands. They really were like kids, I miss the boys and girls back in the Orphanage...

"Akari, truth or dare?" Hikaru returned from the bathroom to wash his hands.

"Truth, I'm too lazy to move right now."I yawned as Hikaru made his way back to his spot and sat down.

"Have you ever dated anyone before?" This question sparked the interest of almost everyone. They all leaned in to hear my answer. I scrunched up my eyebrows a bit and thought about it.

"Hm...No. I don't even think I've liked a boy before honestly..." I shrugged, then I adjusted my seating position so that I was sitting cross-legged.

"So innocent! So pure!" Tamaki dramatically stood and teared up. I rolled my eyes and grinned.

"Tamaki, truth or dare?" He sat back down again immediately.

"Truth!" He said enthusiastically. A Cheshire grin formed on my lips. Tamaki saw and eyed me uneasily.

"If you and Haruhi have been dating for a long time, and you finally wanted to propose to her, how would you do it?" He gaped at me like a fish out of water, and his entire face was tomato-red.

"W-what k-k-kind of q-question is th-that?! I'm her father! I-I-erm...Uh!" He stuttered like an idiot for good five minutes, and I just laughed at him and his embarrassment. I noticed Haruhi turned a bit red too. I nudged her.

"You'd say yes right?" Her eyes widened with alarm, and she seemed to have a loss for words. Tamaki was looking away now as he was burying his face into his hands. I slid over to him and slung an arm over his shoulder, and gestured towards his face.

"Just look at his wittle fwace! Isn't it adorable!" Haruhi and Tamaki then both stuttered and looked away from each other. Honey senpai giggled, Kyoya and Kaoru looked amused, and Mori looked stoic as always.

"I have to make dinner," Haruhi stood and briskly left the room, her face red. I smacked Tamaki on the back as soon as she was gone, _hard._

"OW! What was that for?" Tamaki jerked his pretty face up and looked at me with an angry/annoyed expression on his face. He still looked flustered.

"I thought you were the king of the Host club. How can you be so pathetic when it comes to your feelings with Haruhi?" I hissed in a low whisper. He slightly whimpered.

"I...I'm her father...right? That means I care about her! The feelings I have for Haruhi are fatherly! So of course I couldn't uh...you know." I face-palmed.

"Poor, hopeless Tamaki." I sighed, then I went back to my original spot.

"I am not hopeless!" Tamaki ranted on about some nonsense but I ignored him.

"Hey Tamaki, you should help Haruhi out in the kitchen. As her _father,_ are you _really_ going to let her do all that work by herself?" His eyes widened.

"You're right! I was being inconsiderate! Haruhi! Daddy's coming!" Tamaki raced off into the kitchen, and we heard a couple of crashes and Haruhi yelling at Tamaki. I quickly turned back to the group.

"Guys, I have a plan to get Haruhi and Tamaki together tomorrow. Help me?" I was grinning mischievously at the rest of the Hosts. Hikaru frowned and just slumped into the chair.

"Of course we'll help Akari-chan!" said Honey senpai. Mori grunted to say yes.

"I'll see what I can do," Kyoya adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah, we'll help too," Kaoru smiled as he elbowed Hikaru, who was sulking.

"Whatever," said Hikaru. I slightly frowned, but I whispered my plan to the Host club while the unsuspecting Haruhi and Tamaki prepared dinner in the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

"Oh my gosh," I gaped at the scene before me, and the others probably wore the same shocked/excited expression that I wore on their faces too.

"I think our mission was successful," Kyoya whispered to me. Blankly nodding, I turned to the rest of the hosts. Honey and Mori were smiling at the embracing pair, and the Hitachiins looked like fish taken out of water.

Yesterday, after explaining my plan to the group, we all assigned roles to each other. Kyoya was to get Tamaki to go to the park near Haruhi's house, tricking him into thinking the rest of the Host club would meet him there to "learn more about commoners." Mori and Honey were to escort Tamaki there to avoid suspicion, and then leave because they forgot they had "training." Then, the Hitachiins were supposed to call him and tell them that they were sick. I was to call Kyoya when Haruhi left to go to the park. It was easy fooling Tamaki; Haruhi was a little harder to deal with, but not impossible. I composed a fake letter from "a secret admirer" that said to meet her at the park. I knew normally Haruhi wouldn't go, but the sneaky way I worded it kinda forced her to. It went something like this:

 _You may already know who I am, but I'll still call myself the "secret admirer" anyway. Haruhi, I've always liked you. From the day you've joined the Host club, you were all I could ever think about. Please, could you meet me in the park near your house at the huge tree? If you're going to reject me, I'd rather have you do it in person. I know that if you do, things won't ever be the same between us, but I'd rather take a chance now instead of regretting it for the rest of my life. I'll be waiting for you. -Secret Admirer_

I gave the letter to Kyoya, so that the letter would "arrive" the next morning. I saw Haruhi's face turn a light shade of pink as she read the letter, but she actually did a pretty good job keeping a straight face. I think she went mainly out of curiosity, but I could tell she was hoping that it was from a certain someone(cough Tamaki cough). In these last couple of weeks I've noticed that Haruhi became a little more uneasy whenever Tamaki dragged her into one of his choking hugs, or when he casually slung his arm around her shoulder. No one else had noticed this _very_ slight change. I'm actually not so sure if Haruhi herself knows she's grown attached to our bubbly king.

"Hey uh, I think we can go now..." I whispered. Honey senpai nodded, and we all started to crawl away from Tamaki and Haruhi. We went by unnoticed, and soon we were about ten feet away from them. Ducking behind a wall, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Akari-chan, does this mean that Tamaki and Haruhi will be together now?" Honey senpai was grinning up at me, and I smiled back.

"Hopefully, but for now we should just wait and see what happens."

"So what do we do now?" Asked Kaoru.

"It's doesn't matter!" Hikaru growled. He shoved past me as he stormed away from the rest of the group, hands buried in his pants pockets.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I tried running after Hikaru but Kaoru stopped me.

"Just leave him, he will be fine." I blinked after looking into the other twin's eyes. Then it hit me: Hikaru likes Haruhi too. The only reason he came was because he wanted to see, no. He hoped that the plan failed. Eyebrows raising and mouth opening, a shocked expression washed over my face.

"I didn't know! I-"

"Let's just drop it," Kaoru smiled apologetically at me, and then he released my arm. Chasing after Hikaru, the two, fire-haired twins left us looking at them with concern. Groaning, I slumped against the wall.

"Ugh. I should've noticed sooner that Hikaru had feelings for Haruhi too..." I grumbled.

"It's okay Akari-chan, I'm sure Hika-chan knew deep down that Tamaki and Haruhi would end up together anyway," Honey senpai patted my shoulder, and I slightly smiled at him.

"Oh right, thanks for helping me out guys. If you hadn't, then Tamaki and Haruhi's date wouldn't have been possible." I smiled up at the two taller boys.

"Not a problem. After all, you and your brother have been increasing the club's profits, and the Host club has been saving more money ever since Haku's bakery started supplying the cakes." Kyoya gave me his business smile, and Mori just grunted while wearing a placid expression on his face.

Peeking over towards where Haruhi and Tamaki was, I could see that they now started walking away standing at an awkward distance. I smiled a bit. I'm sure Haruhi and Tamaki will be fine from now. Turning back to the remaining hosts, I clapped my hands together.

"So, do you guys want to hang out or do you guys want to go home?" Honey senpai answered right away as he jumped on me.

"We want to play with you of course!" I beamed at him.

"Alright then! Do you guys want to go somewhere?" Another great idea popped into my head.

"Oh! What about the new Maid cafe? It might give us more ideas for the next cosplay theme for the club, and there's a lot of great drinks and sweets," I smiled up at the two midnight-haired boys, then down at Honey senpai who was jumping up and down happily.

"Cake! Cake!" Honey senpai grinned.

"I see why not," Kyoya said. Mori grunted.

"Great! Follow me! You guys don't mind walking, right?" I slightly tilted my head to the side.

"Is it far?" Kyoya asked.

"No, it's right across that street!" I pointed in the direction we were going towards.

"It's a reasonable distance," he started walking towards where I was pointing, and I grabbed Honey senpai's hand.

"Let's go get some cake!"

"Yeah!" Honey senpai and I skipped ahead, laughing like little children, and earning a couple of strange looks and stares from passer byers.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of attractive teens dressed in Maid and Butler outfits. And they all were wearing cat ears!

"Welcome, Milords," they said in unison.

"Heya!" I grinned at them.

"May I escort you to your seat?" A cute maid asked. She was a red-head, and shorter than Honey senpai.

"Please!" Honey senpai giggled. We were all seated, and given a menu to look at. Honey senpai and I skimmed through it, rambling excitedly.

"Ohh! The bunny-shaped ice cream looks really cute! Don't you think so Takashi?" Mori senpai grunted in agreement. Kyoya was jotting some notes down. A suave-looking Butler approached.

"Are you ready to order?" He purred in a silvery voice.

"Not yet, there's so many good stuff to choose from!" I laughed happily. The Butler's emerald eyes widened a bit in surprise, and he leaned a bit closer to me.

"I don't mean to be rude but, why is a pretty girl like you dressing up as a boy?" I looked at him in surprise.

"You can tell I'm a girl? At first glance?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Of course! You may not be able to see it, but your cheerfulness really exposes how beautiful you really are on the inside," he smiled charmingly. I turned a little red. I was...beautiful? No one's ever called me that before...

"Uh...Thanks I guess?" I grinned and recomposed myself.

"You're the first person to not mistaken me as a dude despite my appearance. Congrats!" I gave him a thumbs up. He chuckled, and then left us so that we could finish deciding what we wanted.

Being in a good mood, I whistled a bit despite myself. Honey senpai had grown a little more quiet after the Butler had left, and he was still picking out some sweets with Mori. I glanced over at Kyoya. He was stealing glances at the Butler from earlier, and he wasn't writing notes down anymore. To outsiders, he would've looked completely calm. But I could see his eyebrows twitching just the slightest; he was annoyed. I blinked a bit in surprise, but I pretended I didn't notice.

"Honey senpai, are you done ordering?"

"Yup! I'm getting everything in the desserts section!" He giggled.

"Okay, but share, kay?" I gave him a closed-eyed smile.

"Kay!" He gave me the same smile back.

"Hey Kyoya, want anything? There's tea and stuff," he looked at me for a brief moment, before staring out the window of the shop.

"Order some coffee for me," I nodded, then Mori said he'd get the same thing. I waved my hand up to summon a Maid or Butler. The guy from earlier came to our table.

"We're ready!" I said cheerfully. He smiled.

"We would like everything in the desserts section, and two cups of coffee."

"Bitter, or sweet like you?" He purred while winking at me. I turned towards Kyoya.

"Do you want it bitter or sweet?" I asked him.

"I don't have a preference," he said coldly.

"And you?" I asked while looking at Mori.

"Bitter," he said in a monotone voice. I turned my attention back to the Butler.

"Bitter for both! Since we be eating a lot of sweets," I handed him the menu as he continued smiling at me like how Tamaki would smile at his guests.

"I'll be back soon, my pretty moon," he said in a smooth voice.

I gave him my boyish smile. Our Butler then left, and Honey senpai and I chatted idly together. His favorite cake was strawberry cake(no surprise).

Mori didn't say anything as usual, and he would only grunt occasionally when Honey senpai or I asked him a question. Kyoya was silent the whole time, and I couldn't help but feel that he was glaring at me.

"Your orders!" The red-haired maid from earlier came out with two trays, and three other Butlers/Maids came out as well with more trays.

"Wahhhh!" Honey stood up from his chair from excitement.

We devoured _everything,_ and the bill was ridiculous. Honey senpai paid for everything despite my protests, and we were all about to leave before the Butler with green eyes approached me.

"Before you go, please promise me that you'll come back to see me," he handed me a piece of paper with a name and phone number on it.

"What's this?" I asked him curiously.

"My contact information, feel free to stop by whenever," he winked at me before leaving. Exiting the store, I was about to shove the piece of paper into my pocket, but then Kyoya took it and skimmed it.

"Vincent Hugo, he goes to our school you know. I believe he is the son of the famous pastry chef Pierre Hugo," he crumbled up the piece of paper before dropping it on the ground. Glaring, I picked it back up.

"Littering is illegal," I grumbled. Kyoya stared at me nonchalantly, while I continued giving him the cold look.

"Akari-chan? Kyoya-chan?" Honey senpai glanced between the two of us worriedly.

"It's not polite to take other people's things," I said to Kyoya. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I didn't think you would allow someone to flirt with you so easily," he said in an even tone that matched my own.

"It's not like I'm dating him or anything, and besides I like someone else!" I gasped then bit my lower lip. Crap.

"Uh...never mind."

"What?" Kyoya's annoyance melted away, and now instead curiosity filled his gray eyes.

"You like someone Akari-chan?" I froze, and looked down at Honey senpai who was grinning at me knowingly. He was a lot more observant than I thought him to be.

"Who is it." That was more of a command than a question. I glanced at Kyoya nervously.

"Uh...I like cake is what I meant! Haha!" Darn it. Why did I suddenly become a horrible liar...

"Is he in our Host club?" Asked Mori. I gulped, before smiling at him sheepishly.

"I don't like anyone that way! Honest! And even if I did..." I trailed off.

"Bye! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" I sprinted away before they could stop me. I heard some footsteps following me. Panting, I sped up. Flying down the sidewalks, my feet carried me towards the park from earlier. I could still hear someone chasing me, probably Honey senpai or Mori. I pumped up my arms up and down, and my feet felt numb. The only sensation I could feel was the wind slapping past me and my body accelerating at a speed I didn't know I was able to reach. The world around me was just a colorful blur.

I was almost losing him! Just as I was about to turn, my foot caught onto the leg of someone and I was sent hurling forward. Crashing into the ground, the impact sent a sharp pain shooting through my knees. Wincing, I tried to stand but my knees refused to ben straight.

"Akari! Are you alright?" Out of breath, Kyoya stood in front of me, and his hair was disheveled. He was bending down with his hand on his knees, wheezing to get more air into his lungs.

"Yeah, I just tripped! Haha..." I was also out of breath, and when I tried standing again, Kyoya kneeled down so that he was eye-level with me.

"Let me see it," he reached his hands out to roll up the leg of my jeans to inspect my knees. Without thinking, I slapped his hands away. He glared at me in annoyance.

"I-I can do it!" Averting my gaze from him, I rolled up the legs of my pants, and saw my scabbed knees that were bleeding.

Kyoya stared at them for a little bit, and lightly touched the clean area around the bloody mess. I grimaced.

"I'll be back," before I could process what was happening, Kyoya had helped me up and sat me down on a bench, and then ran off. It was really weird seeing Kyoya Ootori run. He looked like a normal teenage boy, and his hair looked kinda nice when it was all messy...He looked even prettier than-Wait what?! I slapped myself and tried to get rid of the blush that had wormed its way onto my face.

After sitting on the bench for a couple of minutes, Kyoya came back with a something in his hand.

"Here," he opened a container full of cream, and he started to rub it onto my knees.

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush,Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush,Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, don't blush.

I repeatedly chanted this to myself in my head, but even so my cheeks still burned from embarrassment and another emotion. Yup. I'm definitely infatuated with this guy. But why him out of all people? Wouldn't I have fallen for someone as loud as I was? Someone as dramatic and slightly clumsy as Tamaki?

"Thanks," I grumbled after he stood up. I averted eye-contact and fixed my gaze on a nearby tree.

"Not a problem, if you answer a question I ask you." I glanced up at him, only to see him smirking at me like the proud, rich jerk he was. Pursing my lips into a thin line, I narrowed my eyes.

"Alright, ask your question," I stood up, facing him.

"You're obviously infatuated with someone," Kyoya said.

"That's a statement," I crossed my arms as I tried to calm my fast-beating heart.

"Tell me who it is," he smiled coolly.

"Why?" I asked defiantly. Good thing I could act. No one could see how flustered and awkward I really felt on the inside.

"Because I'm curious," he said frankly. My heart sank a bit in disappointment. Pft, did you actually think he'd like you? Come on! This was Kyoya Ootori we're talking about. Sighing, I ran my fingers through my messy, wind-swept mop of hair.

"It doesn't matter. I'm stuck with Erai anyway," I spat bitterly.

"But what if you weren't?" I turned towards Kyoya curiously. We stared at each other for a few, quiet moments. I thought about it for a little moment.

"I...I don't know..."I said quietly.

"Let's make a deal then," I looked at him, and he continued.

"If I help you break your arranged marriage with Erai, you tell me who you like." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"But that wouldn't bring you any merit," he looked confused this time.

"Pardon?"

"You're a very calculating, careful, and no offense, but selfish person Kyoya. If something wasn't worth your time, you wouldn't waste your efforts on it. There isn't much you can gain from helping me. So may I ask: _why_ are you offering to help me?" The raven-haired boy didn't say anything for a while.

"As much as I hate to admit it,"he started out snobbishly. I rolled my eyes.

"You're a part of our family in the Host club. If Tamaki and the others knew, I know that they wouldn't have hesitated to help you. I'm just doing what any other member would have done." A small smile settled onto his lips. A real smile, not his cold, business smile, but his genuine one. I gazed at it for a little bit, then I smiled back. He was being real, honest. He was basically saying that he was my friend, and that he cared about me. Aww, he really is a softie deep down.

"Aww, you're really sweet! So does that make me special to you? I'm you're best friend too, right?" I poked him while grinning like a kid. He re-composed himself, and shot me an "annoyed glare."

"Yeah sure," he rolled his eyes. Smiling and with a more serious tone of voice, I said:

"Alright then, thanks Kyoya. You're a great friend, and your help would mean a lot more to me than you think. Thank you." I hugged him. But before he could register what I was doing, I pulled back and grinned. It was extremely difficult _not_ turning red.

"So deal?"

"After you tell me who you like, and honest answers only," he said sternly.

"Are you really that curious?" I asked.

"Yes! Who is it?" He sounded pretty childish just then. Laughing, I poked his nose.

"Help me first, and then I tell you. Okay? Because I'm honestly not sure if I like him or not," grumbling in dissatisfaction, Kyoya nodded reluctantly.

"I'll find out sooner or later," he said.

We walked out of the park together, and hung out for a bit at a manga cafe. I got him to read a couple of shonen mangas, and I read shoujo ones of course. We had a lot of fun, and I saw him smile and laugh a couple times. We left afterwards, and I arrived at Haruhi's house only to find it empty. Later after Haruhi came back, she told me everything that happened, and I pretended to be shocked. I laughed evilly internally though, he and Tamaki were a little closer now! There will be more devious plans in the future however...hehe...


	13. Chapter 13

_**Sorry about all the typos. I fixed them though haha! Thank you for all the reviewing, favoriting, and following! T-T**_

"I hate you!" I screeched at the red-haired boy who stood smirking at me. His almost gold eyes only looked at me in amusement. Trembling with hatred and rage, I shoved past him leaving the room full of teen boys staring at me in astonishment.

"Akari!" Haku called. Shutting out everyone's voice, I started sprinting out. My footsteps thundered across the marble floor, and I flew down the hallways faster than lightning. I ran as if I was being chased down, and the world around me melted away into nothing but a blur. Arms and legs pumping, I sliced through the air allowing the wind to slap against my body.

When I stopped to catch my breath, I noticed the walls of roses that surrounded me. Sighing, I walked over to a nearby bench and slumped into it. It wasn't my fault I lost my temper, anyone would if that pathetic worm of a man talked to them! gritting my teeth, I recalled the events from the past couple of days.

 _ **Start of long flashback...**_

 _Akari had gone home after thanking the Fujiokas countless times for allowing her to stay at their house. To show her appreciation, she had booked them a meal with her the next weekend to eat at a fancy sushi restaurant. Haruhi was very excited, since she would be able to eat the "fancy tuna" she always daydreamed about. The two tried declining, but Akari insisted, and seeing her stubborn nature the two happily gave in. Unfortunately, when Akari arrived, a certain teen boy was still there._

"Why is _he_ here?" I snarled through gritted teeth.

"Now now Baby Sister, don't get too angry. Erai here just wanted to see you! It's been a little while now since the two of you had an actual conversation." Haku smiled at me nervously, as he ran his fingers through his caramel hair.

"Where are your manners?" Osamu said sternly as he looked up from the textbook he was reading. Arashi avoided eye-contact with me. My facial expression softened. Sighing, I glared at Erai.

"Hi." I tightly clenched my bag full of my belongings. The red-haired womanizer gave me that annoying smirk of his, and I clenched my teeth to avoid saying something I'd regret.

"Nice to see you too, friend," Erai said in an overly-sweet voice.

"Now that you've seen me, get out." I stepped away from the door and gestured towards it.

"Tch. How rude of you Akari! I thought you were better than that!" Haku waved a finger at my face. Rolling my eyes, I sauntered over to our bedroom and threw my bag onto my bunk. Ugh. It smelled like him. Scrunching my nose, I noted to myself to wash the sheets.

After couple of moments of my brothers conversing with Erai near the door, he left. Osamu came into the bedroom first.

"You could've been nicer," he grumbled as he sat on his bunk.

"I missed you too," I stated sarcastically.

"Big Brother missed you very muuuuuucccchhhhh!" Haku glomped on my and nuzzled the top of my head.

"Did the Fujiokas treat you well? Were you polite?" He asked. Smiling just the slightest, I returned his hug and wrapped my arms around his skinny waist.

"Yeah," then I pushed him away and put on an "angry" face.

"But I didn't appreciate you having Erai stay over suddenly," his lower lip trembled as he looked down at me.

"I said that I was sorrrryyyyy!" He wailed. He tried to pull me into another hug, but I placed my hand on his face and stepped away.

"Promise you won't do it again?" He pouted and was about to complain, but then I put on my puppy face. My eyes were round and watery, and my lips were pouting. Biting his lower lip, I saw Haku gave in.

"Fine, I won't do it again," he smiled and then ruffled my hair.

"I missed you kiddo," I grinned.

"Me too. "

The rest of our evening was nice, we just talked about the events that occurred during our break. School would me starting once again tomorrow, so we all went to bed early like good little children.

They never really questioned my reasons for hating Erai since they clearly saw how I wasn't going to talk about it. I like how they respect that I need my space sometimes. Arashi avoided eye-contact with me for the rest of the evening, obviously feeling guilty about our fight at the beach before he left. I decided to talk to him tomorrow, when we weren't around Haku or Osamu. I could tell they knew something was up between us, but they decided not to pry.

The next day, we woke up when the alarm set off and Osamu won.

"I won!" He let out a dark chuckle that sent chills down my spine.

"D-don't laugh like that! It's scary!" Haku whimpered as he held a pillow close to him.

"Sorry," Osamu recompsed himself.

"Alright, the punishment is only for Akari and Arashi," he said sternly.

"What? No fair!" I crossed my arms childishly.

"Your punishment is to make-up with each other for whatever fight you had," I glanced towards my twin, to find him staring blankly at the ground. I bit my lip and looked away.

"Um...sorry about last time...I didn't mean to get you worried..." Peeking at his face, I saw that he was still looking away.

"I'm sorry too; I was just angry at myself mostly. You didn't do anything wrong..." He said in a low voice. I looked up the same time he did.

"So we're cool?" I asked him as I took out my hand.

"We're cool," he grabbed it, and gave me a small smile. I grinned back.

"It's good to see you again Arashi!" He smirked.

"Remember our competition? The one about being the better host?" I grinned back.

"Of course."

I was in a really good mood during the limo ride, and during school hours. After school ended, I convinced my brothers to visit the Host club to see what it was about.

"I don't see what's so great about it. Based on what you two told me, it's just a bunch of guys flirting with delusional fangirls," Osamu grumbled as we walked to the music room.

"I think it's great! I have to talk to Kyoya about some matters concerning the bakery anyway," Haku said as he smiled. Arashi said nothing and wore a bored expression on his face.

"Yeah, just remember: pretend you don't know Haruhi is a girl in front of the guests or else Kyoya will have you shipped off to New Zealand," I opened the grand doors.

"Akari! Good to see you!" Tamaki was cheerful as usual, and glancing around the room the Hosts were all doing what they normally did. The twins were pestering Haruhi who remained straight-faced, Honey senpai ate cake while Mori senpai accompanied him, and Kyoya was vigorously typing stuff into his laptop.

"Hey king!" I gave him a closed-eyed smile.

"You brought your brothers?" The Hitachiins walked over towards us, their steps perfectly synced. Hikaru seemed normal despite storming off the other day(he threw a fit of jealous rage...)

"We have names," grumbled Osamu as he adjusted his glasses.

"We didn't bother remembering them," the twins said as they shrugged their shoulders.

"I hope you're not here to flirt with my daughter!" Tamaki shook an accusing finger at Haku, who only smiled in a relaxed manner.

"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of it!" Haku threw up his hands in the air as if he was surrendering.

"Don't worry Haruhi, daddy will protect you," Tamaki had pulled Haruhi into a suffocating hug, and was nuzzling the top of her head. I saw her face redden just the slightest.

"Haku-senpai, it's nice to see you," Kyoya closed his laptop as he stood, business smile painted onto his lips.

"You too Ootori, I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you," Haku gave him an equally cool smile back. The two made their way over towards a quiet part of the room, jabbering about stuff I don't really care about. The twins were pestering Osamu, who was surprisingly very irritable today.

"I bet you didn't join the Host club because no girl would like you," said Hikaru.

"Yeah, you're so boring. No girl would be interested in having a conversation with you," said Kaoru.

"I honestly couldn't care less what a pair of children think about me. And the idea of wasting time by entertaining a bunch of shallow rich ladies doesn't really appeal to me," Osamu said coldly.

"Aww, don't be so harsh," the twins said at the same him as they slung their arms around Osamu's shoulders. He arched an eyebrow at them. He was only a couple inches taller than them.

"I bet you would look much less nerdy if you took off your glasses," said the twins as they grinned mischievously. Osamu narrowed his eyes at them. Before he could react, Hikaru had stolen Osamu's glasses and had ran off, and Osamu chased after him.

"I don't have time for your childish games!" Osamu shouted as he ran after Hikaru. I laughed in amusement, and Arashi yawned.

"Kaoru! Catch!" Hikaru threw Osamu's glasses in the air, and across the room towards Kaoru's direction. Osamu jumped up, and caught them with one hand.

"Tch. You're a bad thrower," Osamu pushed his glasses back onto his face and scowled at the Phoenix-haired twins.

"Aww, you didn't have to ruin the fun," he said.

"Rude," Osamu muttered.

"The club will be opening in three minutes, everyone get into positions. And Osamu-senpai? You and Haku will be guest hosts today," Kyoya's calm voice sliced through the cacophony.

Osamu grunted, before finding an open couch to sit down on, Haku joining him.

"I'm gonna win," I said in a sing-song voice to Arashi.

"We'll see about that," my clone smirked at me.

Soon enough, a sea of yellow dresses swarmed into the room. The excited chatter of the girls filling the air. Tamaki introduced my brothers to the rest of the girls, and they quickly gained more customers. A group of girls were seated in front of me.

"Hello ladies, enjoyed your break?" I imitated the silvery voice the Butler from the Maid cafe used. Giggling, the trio answered.

"Yes we did, and we were very excited to see the Host club again," the red-head said.

After entertaining the guests for a little bit, I peeked over to Haku and Osamu to see what kind of act they were doing. Surprisingly, Haku was the older brother type, and Osamu was the calm, quiet one. I expected Haku to be the flirty one, but I guess he didn't want to copy Tamaki. but nevertheless, all the ladies loved him as I expected. Some of the more quiet girls snuck peeks at Osamu, who was reading; Osamu like my other brothers was very appealing, but because he seemed so nerdy a lot of girls were a bit scared of approaching him. Most of the girls sitting near him merely admired his physical appearance.

"Kyoya! Haku is stealing all of my customers away!" Tamaki complained to the busy Kyoya. He didn't bother looking up from the notes he was scribbling down.

"Don't worry, it's only for today," said Kyoya nonchalantly.

"Imouto-chan, you look so cute when you blush like that!" Haku smiled at one of his customers as he gently patted her head. She pouted.

"You think I'm cute and not pretty?" Spoiled much. Haku only chuckled warmly, before lightly poking her nose.

"Of course you're pretty, but to me you're my precious little sister! So if someone makes you cry, be sure to tell your older brother. Kay?" He gave her a sweet, closed-eye smile. The other girls squealed.

"Talk to me now Big Brother!" Said another girl. Osamu was reading his textbook quietly next to Haku, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I noticed one of his customers decided to talk to him, the other girls were practically drooling as they watched him read.

"Um...is that AP Physics?" She said timidly. Osamu looked up, and nodded.

"Could...you help me understand the concept of acceleration? I've been having trouble in class..." Osamu, surprisingly, smiled at her a little.

"Sure, why not?" The glasses-wearing girl blushed, and the her friends fangirled. I chuckled to myself. I turned my attention to where Arashi was.

"Do you like having us as your customers?" A brunette was smiling up at Arashi.

"B-baka! Don't say such embarrassing things!" Arashi turned his head away, and covered his mouth with one of his hands as his face turned cherry-red. I don't know how he was able to make himself blush voluntarily. It was a skill, really.

"Why aren't you paying attention to us?" One of my customers pouted.

"Sorry! It's just that I didn't get to spend time with my brothers over the break, so I've missed them," I smiled at them while rubbing the back of my neck. The girls "awwed" me.

"That's so sweet!" Said one girl as she was smiling at me with sparkling eyes.

"Not as sweet as your smile!" I said cheerfully while grinning. A red blush exploded on her face, and the sounds of squeals filled the entire room.

After a while, the club ended and the girls all left murmuring about how hot my brothers were, and complaining that Osamu and Haku were only temporary Hosts.

"Good-bye cuties!" Haku waved at the leaving guests with a smiling face.

"Bye Big Brother!" Numerous girls waved back at him at the same time.

"U-um...thanks..." The shy girl wearing glasses smiled at Osamu, and he nodded politely. After everyone left, the double doors closed shut.

"Do I see a potential girlfriend?" I nudged Osamu while smirking at him mischievously. He scowled.

"Oh, so Haku can flirt with hundreds of girls but as soon as I talk to one-"

"Chill Osamu, I was just kidding," I lightly punched him on the shoulder.

"She really seemed to like you ya know," I grinned at him, and Haku smiled at Osamu as well.

"She was just asking me for help in Physics," he grumbled as he opened his textbook to start reading it. Only, it was upside down.

Haku, Arashi, and I all smiled at each other knowingly.

"Good day gentlemen," a familiar voice rang out to the room. Turning our attention to the speaker, we saw a guy pushing open the doors and walking in. It was Erai. My eyes instantly narrowed, and I had to refrain myself from hissing. His stupid, red hair was pulled into a high ponytail and it swished about with each step. Ugh, I hate his hair a burning passion; how do girls find it hot?!

"Whose this guy?" Asked the twins in unison. I tensed up, and Kyoya noticed. Clenching my teeth, I tried walking past him but Erai grabbed my arm.

"You're leaving as soon as I come in? So harsh Akari. You haven't changed at all," he said in a "polite" voice.

"What are you doing here Erai?" Asked Haku and Osamu. Arashi wore an impassive mask on his face, similar to Mori senpai's.

"I believe this is Erai Yukimura, he...transferred to Ouran this morning."

"What?!" My brothers and I all said in unison(minus Arashi).

"I wanted to spend more time with my best friends! And my future fiance of course," I clenched my fists.

"Who is your future fiance?" Honey senpai frowned a bit after seeing my distress.

"Don't you are," I spat through gritted teeth.

"Akari!" he smirked at me.

Everyone stared at me in utter shock, except for Kyoya who wore a placid expression on his face. My face turned red, and its features were contorted with rage and loathing.

"I hate you!"

 _ **End of long flashback...**_

I had curled up into a little ball and buried my head into my knees. I really didn't want to face my brothers or the Host club after they found out. Why was I engaged to someone as repulsive as him?! I would rebel against my father's wishes if I hated him as much as I did in the past...but...He wasn't the same man who had sent my brothers and I away to America.

My heart sank when I remembered the last time I had seen him, when we arrived in Japan nine years after being separated. His shoulders were slumped, his hair was graying. Wrinkles started to form on his pale-face, and he was nothing but skin and bones. Dark bags indicating sleepless nights sat under his eyes, and his cheeks were sunk in from exhaustion. His voice was so empty and lifeless, no longer harsh or cold. His eyes stared back at me blankly, like an empty statue's. He was devoid of emotion in a different way, he was emotionless because he had wasted away. He was a broken man. When I was a child, he was a bitter man; enraged, heartbroken, grieving after the death of our mother. Prior to her death, he was the kindest father anyone could ask for. His warm eyes would twinkle whenever he looked at us, and he would embrace us very often. But now, there wasn't a trace of the loving man or the cold man he once was. He had asked me to marry Erai because he knew that if I married into a wealthy family, I would have a secure future. The way he stood, and how weak he looked, none of us could say no. My brothers seemed more heartbroken when they saw what had become of their father. So we bought a separate apartment, so that we wouldn't have to see the empty shell of a man everyday; so our hearts wouldn't cry every time we looked into his sorrowful eyes.

"I thought I might find you here," a cool voice sliced through the silence around me. Glancing up, I saw Kyoya approaching me, alone. I scooted over on the bench, making room for him to sit down. After seating himself, the bespectacled boy started talking.

"Don't worry too much about Erai, I've already set a plan into motion to break your family's ties with him." I peeked at him to see an evil smile on his face. I smirked.

"So are you going to send him away to some remote island?" Kyoya looked at me with an amused expression.

"No, but just be patient and Erai won't be a problem anymore." I do not want to know what Kyoya had in store. But whatever it was, I'm sure I would be great. I chuckled, then I looked up at the cloudless sky.

"I don't know what that brain of yours is planning, but I'm sure it'll work." I smiled to myself a little bit. I didn't have to worry, Kyoya Ootori, the Shadow King was on my side! I felt myself relax a bit.

"Sorry about the outburst from earlier, I just can't stand that jerk," I grumbled. I suddenly remembered my friend back at the orphanage, the one who never spoke to me again. If she was in front of me instead of Kyoya, she would've offered me some candy; she would've told me that she would shave the jerk who upset me bald. She would've smiled and tried to cheer me up. I miss her. Why did a stupid boy have to come in between us? I bit my lower lip.

"It's not a problem. Oh, just so you know, Erai and your brothers left already, and I haven't told the Host club anything yet." I looked up at him, surprised.

"Huh? Wouldn't you normally just spill the beans to them? How come you didn't tell them what happened, it's very out of character. The Kyoya Ootori I know announces everyone's personal information as soon has he gets a hold of their file!" Kyoya frowned a little upon hearing the description of him I gave, but he answered my question.

"Because I wasn't sure if it was my place to tell them such personal information; and I didn't know if you would be alright with it or not," he said quietly. My eyes widened. Aww...how sweet of him. I grinned at him and hugged him without thinking.

"Aww, you're best Kyo." I felt him stiffen up a bit, then relax. I pulled away, and I had to fight down a blush that threatened to surface on my face.

"Sorry, I get too huggy and touchy sometimes." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. He smirked at me.

"I'm used to it by now," we both looked up the blue sky. Silence hung in the hair, but not in an awkward way; the quiet atmosphere was really peaceful.

I smiled to myself; Kyoya is really an awesome friend. But...What happens after Erai is gone? It's not like Kyoya will feel the same about me...I'm not like the type of girl that Kyoya or any other guy in this school would be interested in. I'm not girly and I don't look pretty in dresses. I have a deeper voice than other girls, and I'm super flat chested: even Haruhi has more than me! I can beat any guy in an arm-wrestling contest, burping contest, and I can definitely pass off as a dude. Sure, I like myself for who I am but...

"Hey Kyoya?" I broke the silence. Although I didn't stop looking away from the crystal-blue sky, I could tell that Kyoya was now looking at me.

"Hm?"

"Do...you think that I'm not feminine enough for a girl?" I tried to say it in the most nonchalant manner as possible. There was a couple of more moments of silence, but he finally spoke up.

"Even though you act and dress like a teenage boy, you're still a pretty girl Akari." I looked down at my shoes, and my face heated up to about over a hundred degrees.

"Really?" I coughed awkwardly and averted eye contact.

"Akari, you're self-conscious about being a tomboy. You feel as if you're not as pretty as other girls, and the other day at the mall confirmed my suspicions. I believe the Frozen Yogurt worker said something that made you feel insecure about yourself and I'm guessing it was some snarky comment. You don't have to act or dress like other girls to be an amazing person Akari; you should have more confidence. Just because you may pursue activities and display personality traits often found in boys does not make you any less of an amazing woman you already are." I looked at Kyoya now with surprise etched onto my face. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. A warm, fluttering feeling swarmed around in my stomach, and I felt a giggle trying to squirm out from me. Face being a light shade of pink, I gave Kyoya a closed-eye smile.

"Thanks Kyoya...I'm flattered and...I don't know what else to say." Laughing, I leaned back and looked up at the baby-blue sky once again. All of my feelings of dread, rage, and frustration had melted away without me realizing it. If Kyoya came to make me feel better, he was successful. Of course he was, he never failed at anything. My heart kept on fluttering at fast beats, and my cheeks still tingled with a lingering blush. I felt like a protagonist from a shoujo manga and honestly, I liked the feeling very much.

"I feel better now...thanks. Huh...so this is what it feels like," I mumbled the last part softly.

"What?" He didn't catch everything I said.

"Nothing, now let's get back to the others." I lightly punched him on the shoulder and stood up.

"You're always helping me out and making me feel better, I should do something special for ya!" I grinned at him. He rolled his eyes, and stood up as well.

"No need. Like I said, just keep on bringing in a steady flow of customers for the Host club," he stood.

"We should head back now," turning, he walked away from me signaling that I should follow him.

We walked back, and I "interviewed" him more. I learned that Kyoya enjoys painting(shocking right?) I had no idea he was an artist. But, I think the hobby suits him; it's calm and refined. He's not much of an animal person, and he has older siblings. Although Kyoya told me that he and his older brothers weren't very close, I could tell that he respected them very greatly. But...I couldn't help but notice the sadness that swam in his stormy eyes when he talked about them. Wait a second...Kyoya's family was a very influential business group. Kyoya was the third son, so that means his family's business would be passed down to one of his older brothers. My heart sank a bit. I think Kyoya deserved to manage the business...He seemed to be the most amazing, capable person I've ever met. It was sad knowing that even though Kyoya may be the best heir in taking over the Ootori business, he never would because he was the third son. I decided not to say anything though, I'm sure this already is a huge weight for him.


	14. Chapter 14

A _red-haired boy stood in a dark room, enshrouded by the shadows. A cell-phone rang, and he picked it up without bothering to check and see who was calling him._

 _"The company will be handed over you by next Monday, sir," said a man's voice from the other line. A small smile crept up on the boy's face, and feeling satisfied, he replied:_

 _"Good work, " he hung up, and smirked to himself._

 _"Soon...it'll be all mine," he whispered. Even though the room was completely silent, his voice was barely audible. The red-haired teen was unaware, however, that he wasn't alone. In a dark corner of the room, completely veiled by shadows, a tall figure had seen and heard everything. Erai sauntered out of the room, and the boy hidden in the shadows waited a few moments after he had left before stepping out into the light._

 _"Don't be so sure, Yukimura," a calm voice said. The boy pulled out his own phone, and made his own phone call._

I was so happy that I didn't have any classes with Erai. Strangely, no one seemed to know that he transferred. Maybe he skipped today or something. I'm pretty sure I would've punched somebody or broken something if that jerk ended up in one of my classes. I'm usually a very tolerant person; I put up with the Host club and all their crazy antics. But, when it comes to people who I genuinely hate, I find it hard to control myself. He took my best friend. I spaced out from the math lesson, Arashi openly snoring next to me. The teacher ignored him, or...I don't think he heard him. The girls in our class were gazing dreamily at Arashi, probably thinking about how attractive he looked even when he slept. His floppy, caramel hair shadowed his closed-shut eyes, and he appeared to have flawless skin. He was definitely the more attractive twin out of the two of us. I still got pimples from time to time because of all the junk food I eat(but it's totally worth it). I noticed one of the girls had strawberry blonde hair, and she was wearing it in a braid. She reminded me of _her_. Sighing, I turned away so that I wouldn't be awkwardly staring at her.

Leaning my cheek on my hand, I absently stared at the chalkboard filled with numbers that resembled some language of the aliens, and spaced out.

 _Flashback..._

 _"Hey Arisa! Let's pull a prank on one of the boys!" Wrapping my arm around the girl, I gave my friend a huge grin. She only sighed while shaking her head. She wore her strawberry blonde hair in a braided crown as usual, and her clothes were wrinkle-free._

 _"What chemical reaction do you want to use **this** time?" She asked in a flat voice. I grinned mischievously before whispering my plan into her ear. She always smelled like vanilla and mint. She stifled her laughter by biting down on her lower lip._

 _"Can do. This is why I love science," I beamed at her when she agreed._

 _"You're doing it because you love me, right? Because I'm your bestest friend ever, right?" I poked her arms to see if she would get annoyed. She only rolled her icy-eyes, and playfully punched me on the arm._

 _"No, I totally hate you." I gasped in feign shock, and pretended to burst into tears,_

 _"I thought we were friends! How could you betray me like that? I thought you cared!" I continued to pretend to sob, while Arisa patted my head in mock comfort._

The shrill bell echoed across the school, indicating that class was dismissed, and snapping me back to reality. I slapped Arashi's shoulder with the back of my hand, and he jerked up.

"I didn't do it!" He said. His eyelids were narrowed, and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping them open. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty," I stood up and started packing up my things, and Arashi did the same. He was still in a daze since sleep hadn't worn off of him yet.

After I had returned to the Host club yesterday, to my surprise, no one said anything. I'm assuming Kyoya told them not to question me since I didn't want to talk about it, but the members all averted eye-contact with me and looked as if they pitied me. When I got home, I received similar treatment from my brothers. Well, Osamu acted as if nothing happened, but he did seem a bit distracted when I got home.

"Did you space out during class?" A familiar voice said from behind me. Without having to turn my head, I already knew who it was.

"Hey Kyo," I said as I gathered my belongings in my arms. Tamaki skipped in front of me, with a huge grin on his face.

"We're gonna discuss what our next theme should be at lunch!" He said.

"Alright! We haven't dressed up in a while, so we should make it good!" I beamed at him.

"But of course!" Arashi only yawned, clearly being disinterested in our conversation. Standing up, he walked away without even saying hello to Tamaki or glancing his way.

"Arashi hates me!" Tamaki burst out into tears as he buried his face into Kyoya's shoulder. I laughed, seeing the annoyed expression on Kyoya's face.

"Get off of me, idiot," Kyoya pushed off the emotional blonde from his shoulder, and after brushing himself off he walked away which further distressed Tamaki.

"No! Not you too Kyoya!"

"Don't worry," I slung my arm over Tamaki's shoulders.

"At least Haruhi still likes you~" I whispered so that only he could hear. Tamaki started to blush violently as he stuttered nonsense.

"B-but...ggah! I-I-" Laughing, I shoved my hands into my pockets as I jogged to catch up with Kyoya, who seemed a bit distracted. I decided not to say anything about it, I'm sure he's just busy calculating the club's expenses in that complex brain of his.

During lunch, it was decided that the next theme would be my idea! I suggested that the theme should be Steam punk, and everyone was okay with going with it. Tamaki called me his "brilliant apprentice." I'm glad none of the Hosts tried talking about Erai with me, I'd rather not think about him as much as possible; I appreciated that everyone still treated me the same. I didn't see any of my brothers during lunch and Kyoya left early. I decided not to think to much of it, but I could tell that Arashi was getting suspicious.

After school, the Host club carried on its activities as normal, but I couldn't help but feel that something was off about Kyoya. He wasn't typing anything into that laptop of his, and he wasn't scribbling any notes into that black notebook of his either. Haruhi and Arashi also seemed to notice, but, like me, they were too busy hosting to approach him.

"Akari senpai, you seem distracted," said one of my customers.

"Sorry! I was thinking about ice cream!" I gave them a big smile, and they all started giggling.

We talked about ice cream until the club closed, and the girls apparently never had "commoner" ice cream, the type that an ice cream truck would sell. I explained to them to the best of my ability the concept of ice cream being covered in plastic wrappings, and packaged in boxes. But of course, these girls of luxury couldn't wrap their heads around such an "absurd" idea.

The Host club closed, and just as I was about to approach the club's accountant, he called me over.

"Wassup? Having a rough day?" I asked as I gave him a smile. He adjusted his glasses, while wearing a grim expression on his face. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but then he looked away. My smile fell.

"What's the problem?" I tensed up, and I noticed Arashi do the same from the corner of my eye. After several moments of silence, Kyoya finally spoke up in a calm, even voice.

"Erai has left Japan, and he has stolen critical documents from your father's company. Erai and his father's business has gone bankrupt; it's safe to infer that out of desperation, Erai hired some men to steal the documents that would allow him to take over the Hamasaki Electronics business. My theory is that Erai hired some hackers to do the dirty work for him, and after obtaining the desired documents he fled with his father. I have my private police force searching for all of them, but if we don't find Erai before Monday, then your father's company will be his. I'm sorry." Silence loomed over the room, no one said anything. The other hosts looked away from me, averting eye contact. The twins were the first to break the tense, hushed atmosphere by clearing their throats.

"Well, you have every right to hate him," said Hikaru and Kaoru.

"That horrible man! Don't worry Akari, we'll catch him and then he will have to answer to the wrath of the Host club!" Tamaki said loudly and passionately.

"We'll teach him a lesson once we catch him, so don't worry, kay?" Even though Honey senpai was smiling, an evil glint in his eye sent shivers down my spine. Mori senpai only grunted to agree with him.

"Everything will be alright Akari-senpai," Haruhi gazed at me with concern swimming in her big, brown eyes, and I felt a little reassured just by seeing that I had everyone's support. Taking in a shaky breath and sighing, I gave them all a small smile before turning back towards Kyoya.

"How long have you known,"my voice was steady.

"Since this morning. I heard Erai making a suspicious phone call, and I decided to investigate. Unfortunately, by the time I took action it was to late. I believe Erai at the moment is heading towards Brazil on one of your family's private jets." My eyes widened.

"Did you say private jet?" Kyoya rose his eyebrows.

"Yes, why?"

"All of our jets have tracking devices, but I don't know if they're still active," Kyoya nodded.

"I see. I'll inform your father about this," I sighed while running my fingers through my hair, almost at the exact same time Arashi did.

"Where's Haku and Osamu?" I asked Kyoya.

"With your father," I glanced over to Arashi to see that he was staring off into the distance, and his facial features were contorted with anxiety and...betrayal. The fact that his childhood friend attempted to steal our company and render us penniless was a shock to him. I bet Haku and Osamu are enraged, but Arashi probably is hurting more than I can see. Although his face only reveals a portion of his true emotions, I can tell that a storm of pain, rage, hurt, and confusion is brewing inside.

His usually clear, honey eyes are muddled and almost seem opaque. His moppy mess of hair falls into his eyes, and casts a dark shadow across his facial features. And yet, Arashi stands completely still, and to outsiders he would've only seemed slightly irritated. If Arashi can't control himself, I'm not sure what he will do. I calmly walked over to him while placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Arashi," he didn't respond or look at me. I noticed his hands clenched into tight fists.

"Arashi, calm down," I said in a soft voice.

"You were right about him," he whispered. I flinched, and then didn't say anything. Arashi walked out of the room, his quiet footsteps echoing across the grand school.

 _To be continued..._


	15. Chapter 15

The plane ride was silent. We all were looking down or out the windows of our airplane seat. Despite the lack of sound or words, I could still hear everyone's tension and anxiety.

After Arashi walked out of the music room, Kyoya contacted my father to let him know about the possibility of the tracking devices still being active on the private jets. We all decided to start heading towards Brazil right away, and our father as well as my two older brothers started hacking into the control panel of the private jet that Erai stole back at _Hamasaki Electronics_. As for Arashi, we couldn't find him after he left the Music Room.

Despite the Hosts wanting to go out and look for Arashi, we didn't because I told them that he needed some time to clear his head. I just hope that Arashi isn't doing something stupid right now. I know that Arashi has a very good grip on his emotions, but the problem is that he bottles up his anger. When something frustrates or angers him, no one can tell. He doesn't yell at other people or pick a fight with them. Instead, he traps it within himself so that even I can't see it. All the rage and fury eventually builds up, brewing and growing into a massive storm concealed by his indifferent mask. When he snaps, the turmoil of emotions is unleashed all at once.

The only time I've ever seen Arashi lose control over himself was when I got picked on by this one boy at the Orphanage. The scrawny boy was taunting me about how flat-chested I was compared to other thirteen year-olds, and I was on the brink of tears. Even though I practically screamed at him to stop, he just laughed and continued to taunt me. When Arashi came by and heard some of the comments the boy was making about my chest, he completely blew up. Growling like a savage wolf, he immediately shot straight at the boy's face and smashed his fist into it. Even though the blow knocked the boy down to the ground and gave him a bloody nose, it wasn't enough for Arashi. He started pounding his fists down at the sprawled boy, ignoring the yowls of pain and the pleas to stop. What scared me the most was his eyes; the burning fire of rage that flickered in them made him seem almost savage. If I hadn't stopped him, I'm sure Arashi would've beat the bully unconscious.

"That idiot better not do something stupid," I muttered as I bit my thumbnail.

"Pardon?" Kyoya, who was sitting across from me, shot me a look of concern.

"Arashi," I mumbled as I continued staring out the window. All I could see was the top of clouds.

"I'm sure he will be alright Akari-chan, so don't worry about him, kay?" I turned my head to see Honey senpai giving me a warm smile, and I returned it one that didn't reach my eyes. No one said anything else for the rest plane ride, and soon enough, my consciousness drifted away.

* * *

"Akari, wake up." I felt someone's hands shaking me for the umpteenth time, and I let out a small groan.

"Don't tell me what to do..." I grumbled as I feebly tried pushing the person away. I heard him huff a bit in annoyance.

"Akari, stop being so childish. We're in Brazil at the moment, and I just contacted your father. He and his men have successfully hacked into the plane Erai and his father was in-" I cut him off by placing my hand on his face and pushing him back a bit. Despite my eyes still being shut, I could tell Kyoya was glaring at me now.

"Wake me up when you have fried chicken..." I said while snuggling closer to the plane's seat.

"You leave me no choice," I heard Kyoya grumble. I felt him lift me up, and my eyes instantly flew open.

"H-hey! W-what are you doing?! P-put me down!" I struggled to get out of Kyoya's grasp; he was carrying my bridal style. A volcanic blush erupted on my face, and I even felt heat at the tip of my ears. Kyoya gave me an annoyed glare, before walking towards the exit of the plane with me still in his arms.

"Kyoya! Put me down!" I thrashed around, my face was probably redder than a tomato.

"I warned you," Kyoya responded in a calm voice. I didn't dare look at him in the eye, and I stopped struggling when we were nearing the stairs.

"Oh you woke her-" I saw Tamaki's eyes widen at the sight of Kyoya carrying me, and my face somehow grew more red.

"Tamaki! Kyoya's harassing me!" I pointed a shaky finger at Kyoya, who then dropped me upon reaching the end of the stairs. I fell to the ground on my bum. My face returned to its normal color the instant my butt made contact with the rock-hard ground.

"Ow!" While on the ground, I shot Kyoya a glare.

"Gee, thanks for being so _gentle_." I got up and brushed off my butt, which felt sore.  
 _Aw man, I bet it's bruised now_.

"It's your fault for not getting up earlier," Kyoya sighed as he adjusted his glasses.

"We tried waking you up earlier," said the twins in unison.

"But you didn't get up," finished Honey senpai cutely.

"At least she's not in a foul mood when she wakes up," Tamaki cautiously whispered to Haruhi, who wore a poker-face as usual.

"Say, you were blushing pretty violently just now. Do you perhaps like Kyoya?" The twins shot mischievous grins in my direction, while slinging their arms around my shoulder.

"Yeah, I like him. I like all of you guys too," I said in the calmest voice I could manage. I suppressed a surfacing blush and forced myself to give everyone a closed-eye smile.

"But why do you blush when you say that?" The twins poked my face, and unfortunately, my face grew super red again.

"B-because! Any girl would feel uncomfortable by that question!" I flicked both Hikaru and Kaoru's foreheads.

"Ow!" They exclaimed at the same time while jerking away from me.

"So Kyo, where exactly was Erai's plane at?" I asked him after regaining my composure for the second time.

* * *

 _Akari and the Hosts were able to find the location of Erai's plane, but of course, they found it empty. Kyoya's phone died, leaving the Hosts with no way of getting back to their own jet or to a hotel. With Erai's actual location still unknown and to no one being able to speak Portuguese, the Hosts grew worried and decided to try to find their way back. Unfortunately, they eventually got lost in the busy streets of Brazil._

"I'm tired and hungry!" Tamaki wailed. Haruhi sighed in annoyance.

"We all are Tamaki, now quit whining." She said. Tamaki whimpered while curling up into a little ball of despair.

"Boss, now really isn't the time to be sulking," Hikaru said while leaning back on the clay wall.

The noise of people's voices and cars merged into one great buzz, and countless faces all passed by us. We were right next to a sidewalk, and I scanned the crowd searching for someone who might be able to speak English or Japanese.

"Don't worry Tama-chan, we will be alright, right Takashi?" Honey senpai, surprisingly, was the one keeping the morale of the group up.

"Hm," Mori senpai grunted. I kept scanning the crowds while standing next to the wall beside everyone else; soon, I saw a head full of blonde hair coming closer towards us, and I noticed several people staring at her. I quickly walked over to her, and I waved one of my hands to catch her attention.

"Excuse me! Miss?" Her head turned towards my direction, and her blue eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Who are you?" She asked me in perfect, accent-free English. I smiled a bit in relief.

"My name is Akari Hamasaki, and my friends and I are a bit lost. Could you perhaps help us?" I gestured towards where the rest of the group was. She looked timid, and she eyed me up and down cautiously.

"I-I'm not really supposed to speak with strangers..." She said.

"Isabelle, who is this?" A man's voice called from behind. She immediately retreated behind him, and I craned my neck up to see a towering man with Phoenix-colored hair and eyes. He strangely reminded me of the Hitachiin twins, but he spoke perfect English. I gave him a nervous smile.

"Good day sir, my friends and I are lost. Could you please help us out?" He arched an eyebrow at me. Just then, Kyoya popped up from behind me.

"Mr. Akiyama, how nice to see you here," he said in Japanese. The man's eyes sparked with recognition.

"Kyoya? Is that you?" The man answered back in Japanese. The woman and I glanced between the two, confused about how they knew each other.

"Mr. Akiyama!" Honey senpai giggled while leaping up towards the man, who caught him in his arms.

"Mitsukuni?" He glanced up and saw the rest of the Host club, who all were all smiling in relief.

"Uncle!" The Hitachiins latched onto his sides, squeezing his waist in between their lanky arms.

"What are you all doing here?" He asked while ruffling the Hitachiin's heads. The woman, Haruhi, and I all just exchanged looks of confusion.

"Huh?" We all said at once.

* * *

We all sat inside Mr. Akiyama's vacation home, and the woman was apparently his wife. Mrs. Akiyama served us tea, and she apparently spoke perfect Japanese as well. Coincidentally, they had been visiting Brazil for a week since Mr. Akiyama was on vacation.

Mr. Akiyama, Hikaru and Kaoru's uncle, was the business owner of the very famous costume company called "Fiction". Apparently, he was very close with the Host club and provided the monthly costumes for them. He was the older brother of the Hitachiin's mother, and he actually could tell the twin boys apart. Kyoya had just finished explaining why we were in Brazil, and Mr. Akiyama now shot me a look of pity and concern.

"So that's why you're here?" He asked me while setting down his teacup. I gave him a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of my head.

"Yes sir, heh heh..."

"These boys must really care about you if they flew all the way here just for your sake," Mr. Akiyama gave me a kind smile, and I glanced at the rest of the hosts while grinning.

"Yup. Haruhi and I are quite lucky to have friends like them." Haruhi smiled a bit too.

"Are you sure you're _just_ friends?" I was shocked when Mr. Akiyama nudged me and Haruhi with his elbow while winking.

"W-what?" Haruhi and I shot nervous glances at each other, our faces red. Mr. Akiyama burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! I'm kidding I'm kidding!" He wiped a tear from his eye, and Mrs. Akiyama gave us apologetic smiles.

"I'm sorry, he can be a bit of a goofball," she glanced at him in slight annoyance.

"Well, I can see where the Hitachiins get their playfulness," Tamaki said mostly to himself while smiling.

"In all seriousness, I know Erai's father." Mr. Akiyama leaned in on the table while folding his hands over each other.

"You do?" I asked him. He nodded.

"He's ugly and stupid. And in college, he's stolen my animal crackers before." Everyone in the room stared at him in disbelief, and we all sweatdropped like how characters do in anime.

"So don't worry, I'll help you guys find him and bring him to justice. Anyone who steals anything from me or from the friends of my two favorite nephews shall not escape the wrath of me!" He had stood up from his chair, and he now dramatically pointed at nothing in particular.

"Thank you sir! And Erai will also have to answer to the wrath of the Host Club!" Tamaki also stood up and joined Mr. Akiyama in dramatically pointing at something. Haruhi's bangs casted a shadow over her face, so I couldn't see what emotions she was feeling.

We stayed for the night, and Mr. Akiyama fortunately had a phone charger for Kyoya. Haruhi and I shared the guest room, and the other Hosts slept in the living room due to Mr. Akiyama's home being "small."

Haruhi and I laid next to each other on the kind-sized bed. Despite being exhausted from the long day, anxiety kept me from sleeping. Sighing, I pushed myself up and stared into the darkness of the room.

 _What will happen to us if Erai wins?_

Shaking my head, I silently crept out of bed, careful not to wake up Haruhi. I wanted some fresh air, and I thought I saw a sliding door leading to a balcony down at the living room.

 _Maybe if I clear my head, I'll finally be able to sleep... I'll have to be extra cautious not to wake anyone..._

My footsteps were soundless, and I crept down the stairs and towards the living room. I peeked my head from around the corner, and I heard the soft sounds of breathing and snoring from the Hosts. The silhouettes of their bodies blocked me from the balcony. If I wanted to go through, I'd have to carefully place my feet in the small spaces. The chances of me stepping on someone's limb or face was pretty high, and a normal person would've given up and gone back upstairs. But unfortunately, my stubbornness kicked in.

Pretending to be a stealthy ninja, I slowly and cautiously stepped forward, gently placing down my foot in the open space between Tamaki and the Hitachiins. I had to stifle a giggle when I saw how ridiculous Tamaki looked when he slept. His mouth was wide open, and he was snoring. Then, I lifted up my left foot, and carefully reached over Mori senapi's sleeping form. After successfully setting down my left foot, I lifted up my right, and brought it over. Once I safely passed by the Hitachiins, I went over Honey senpai, Kyoya, and then I made it to the door. I unlocked it, slid it open, an then slipped outside in one, swift motion. I silently shut the door behind me, and gazed out at the scenery. Lights illuminated houses and buildings, resembling hundreds of lanterns. I inched closer towards the railing, and then leaned over while inhaling. Closing my eyes and resting my head on my arms, I allowed the cool wind to tickle my bare arms and neck. I was wearing my tank top that I wore under my clothes, and the dress pants of the Ouran uniform.

Now that I think about it, we all rushed towards Brazil without preparing anything. We only had our Ouran uniforms for clothes for Pete's sake! Everyone was so worried about me and my brothers, and they immediately rushed in to offer their help and comfort when I needed them without thinking twice. I slightly smiled, and a warm, fuzzy feeling bubbled up from inside of me. I don't think I could ask for any better friends than the Host club.

"What are you doing out here?" I heard the sliding door open, and then close. Opening my eyes and turning my head, I saw Kyoya standing in front of me with sleep still in his eyes and his hair and clothes disheveled. He had taken off his tie and blazer, and his sleeves were rolled up; he wasn't wearing his glasses either. He looked completely different, but he still looked hot- _what?!_

I mentally slapped myself, and I didn't even try to hide the blush that was on my face. Kyoya looked down at the tank top I was wearing, and slightly frowned. I gave him a nervous smile while turning my body away from him.

"Couldn't sleep," I responded while forcing my eyes to stare at the view. I felt Kyoya make his way next to me, and I could tell that he was looking at the scenery too.

"After we ate dinner, I was able to do some research on Mr. Akiyama's computer on Erai. He has a couple of vacation homes here as well, and we will be splitting up to go to each of them tomorrow." My eyebrows arched up in surprise, and I turned my head towards him.

"You found out all those addresses today?! In less than two hours?!" I stood there gaping like a fish, and Kyoya smirked a bit.

"Yes. After all, who am I?" He was glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and my face burned up for the millionth time.

"Alright alright, I get it. You're the amazing Kyoya Ootori," I grumbled while facing away from him and back towards the others, who still slept peacefully.

"Sorry, could you repeat that? I couldn't quite hear you," Kyoya turned away from the view and leaned his head in towards my face, his smirk widening and my blush deepening.

"You're Kyoya Ootori," I forced my eyes down at the ground, but I could still feel Kyoya's eyes penetrating into my face. He leaned in a bit closer, and although I felt like bolting away my legs wouldn't move. My heart felt as if it would explode from my uneasiness and embarrassment. He was _way_ too close.

"I liked the first one better. Could you say that one more time?" His breath tickled my face, and I felt heat violently tingling my cheeks.

"Y-you're the a-amazing Kyoya..." I trailed off as I lowered my head towards the ground and turning my face away from him.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a playful tone to his voice.

"You're making me uncomfortable..." I mumbled.

"Am I really?" He chuckled a bit, and he reached his hand out. He gently touched my chin and turned it so that my eyes met his, and I completely lost my ability to speak. The skin where his fingers were touching burned, and my knees felt like jello, as if they would cave in at any moment.

"W-wha?! G-gah! Huh?!" Kyoya closed his eyes as he leaned in. I didn't know what to do when his lips inched closer, and closer, and closer...

The sliding door opened, and my eyes flickered to meet Tamaki's. Kyoya heard the sound as well, and I saw Kyoya open his eyes. He immediately backed away, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Tamaki's mouth opened, and his eyes were the size of the moon.

Kyoya and I didn't say anything, but we merely stared at Tamaki as he flickered his gaze on me, then back to Kyoya, then back to me again.

"Tamaki, if you say anything to the others then I'll show Haruhi pictures of you when the Hitachiins dyed your hair green," Kyoya said, finally breaking the silence. I snorted a bit and covered my mouth with my hand to stifle the sound. Tamaki's face grew tomato-red.

"I-I w-won't!" Tamaki still glanced between Kyoya and I, still processing what he had just witnessed. Upon remembering how close we had just been five seconds ago, my face burned up from embarrassment.

"Well, I'm tired so I'll see you guys tomorrow. Night!" I scampered away and swiftly(but silently) cut my way through the barricade of sleeping bodies once more.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry about not updating, I've been going through Writer's Block. Anyways, enjoy!**

"Is this the place?" I whispered while looking through the binoculars.

"I believe so," Kyoya answered in a hushed voice. I stared hard into the binoculars, glaring a hole into the window with my intense glare. I'm sure Erai would have left the important documents in an office of some sort. When we were kids and lived at the Orphanage, he would always hoard his important belongings. He kept them locked up all the time in this giant chest, and he wore the key as a necklace all the time. I doubt he wears the necklace anymore. But, I'm pretty sure his hoarding habits haven't changed.

Kyoya, Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai and I all had gone to the second house. The others had gone to the first one. We were all hiding behind a bush, and we were all in crouching positions.

"I want to look through them too!" Honey-senpai whispered while tapping on my shoulder. Without tearing my gaze off of the window, I passed them to him.

"Someone's leaving the mansion," Mori senpai said. We all turned our heads at the same time, and sure enough, we saw the front door of the mansion open, and then close. Erai came out, long hair swishing as always, and he entered into a limo and drove off.

"Let's go!" I stood to start heading towards the door, but I felt a hand grab me from the back collar of my Ouran uniform. I fell backwards onto my butt.

"Oof!" I turned towards the source of the hand, and Kyoya was giving me a stern look.

"Idiot, there's security cameras." He pointed straight forward, and I followed his finger to see tiny, black cameras near the front door.

"Oh, right," I gave him a sheepish smile, and he sighed. We both were trying to act as normal as possible. Or, at least, I was.

"So how do we get in?" I scanned the opulent mansion with my eyes, and was disappointed to see that almost every inch of it had a security camera attached. But then, I saw a couple that didn't move at all. As I squinted a bit to see better, I noticed that they didn't have any blinking lights either.

"Are those broken?" I tapped on Mori senpai, and brought his attention towards the cameras I was staring at.

"Yeah," he said.

"I think we can cut across," Honey-senpai said.

"Eh? But," I gestured towards the other, functioning cameras.

"Don't worry, I've noticed that they only turn towards our direction every other minute. " He kept his eyes trained on the camera that was pointed towards the direction we had to go to.

"When I say so, we run," he said to us. I glanced at his focused face, and noted to myself that at times like this, Honey-senpai seemed like a nineteen year old. His eyes narrowed, looking much more angular than usual. As he concentrated, his straight-face made him seem much more serious.

"Now!" His small body shot through the bushes at an amazing speed, and he was almost instantly on the other side. Mori, Kyoya and I scrambled up and sprinted as fast as we could towards Honey senpai. I pumped my arms up and down as fast as I could, but it didn't seem fast enough. No matter how hard I tried to speed up, I seemed to stay at a consistent speed. Mori senpai was much faster than Kyoya and I, and so he made it to the wall before we did. I expected Kyoya to suck at running, but I was surprised when he flew past me almost effortlessly. I crashed into the wall just in time. As soon as I ducked behind the wall, the camera had turned towards our direction once more.

"How...are you... so fast?" I huffed through breaths. Kyoya panted to catch his breath as well, but Mori and Honey-senpai seemed fine.

"Did you expect me to be slow?" He replied once his breaths evened out. I nodded my head for yes.

"Hey guys, Takashi can give us all a boost to enter through the window." Honey senpai pointed up at open window I had been staring at earlier, and I nodded.

"I'll go first," Kyoya volunteered to be hoisted up first, and he walked towards Mori senpai. Mori senpai kneeled down and intertwined his fingers together, then lowered them palm-up. Kyoya planted one of his feet in Mori senpai's joined hands. Placing a hand on his shoulder to balance him himself, Kyoya was lifted up as Mori stood up. Being super tall and strong, Mori-senpai had hoisted Kyoya up as if he was nothing more but a rag doll! Kyoya grabbed hold of the window and made it through.

"Your turn," Mori senpai said. I walked towards him, and copied Kyoya's earlier actions. The giant lifted me up, and as I neared the window I noticed Kyoya was still standing there. He had one of his hands outstretched for me to take, and I grabbed it when I got close enough. I placed my other foot on the window sill, and pushed myself forward. Unfortunately, I pushed a bit too hard and at the same time when Kyoya started pulling me towards him. I lost balance and started falling forwards.

"Whaa!" My head rammed into Kyoya's bony chest, which caused him to stagger backwards. I would've fallen face-first onto the ground if Kyoya hadn't regained balance. He caught me, and it probably looked super awkward.

"Be more careful," Kyoya said. I looked up to see his usual, grumpy face, and I turned a bit red when I realized that he was basically holding me in his arms. I pushed away and brushed myself off.

"R-right! Haha, s-s-sorry!" I smiled nervously before turning around, away from him to hide my hot cheeks. I heard a giggle, and I saw that Honey senpai was standing in front of the window. Wearing a slightly mischievous grin, he backed away a bit.

"If you guys want, I can just go wait outside with Takashi." He winked at me, and before I could stop him he hopped out of the window like a bunny. I rushed towards the window and glanced down, to find Mori and Honey looking up at us while smiling.

"Don't worry! We'll keep out for lookout," He said in a loud whisper. I nodded, and started searched around the room, trying to avoid eye-contact with Kyoya. He started searching too. We were in a room full of bookshelves, and there was a fireplace with a burning fire. There was also a large, wooden desk with various drawers, and I searched through them first. I didn't see anything that was a like the chest he had from the Orphanage.

"Akari? You should come over here." Snapping my head up towards Kyoya's voice, I saw him gesturing towards a bookcase. Although I was confused, I did as he asked and walked towards him.

"What's up?" I asked. He pulled out a red book, and the bookshelf opened, revealing a set of stairs leading down. My jaw dropped.

"Whoa! He has one of those stereotypical secret bookshelf doors." I leaned forward a bit to look at the stairs a bit better.

Kyoya said nothing, and after a few moments of silence he started walking down the steps. I followed his lead, trying to make as little noise as possible. The door closed behind us, making it completely dark.

"Kyo? Where are you?" I reached out both my hands, but felt nothing but empty space.

"I'm right here," I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, and his touch sent a bolt of electricity all up my arm. Heat almost instantly slapped onto my face, and I was glad that it was dark.

"Oh..." Before I could pull away, he intertwined his fingers into my own.

"We should hold hands so that we won't get separated," he stated. My eyes started adjusting to the darkness, and soon I saw a vague outline of Kyoya's shadow in front of me.

"Oh...okay..." I grumbled. We started moving forward, my hand in his. His hand was smooth, and his fingers were long and slender. His hands were surprisingly warm; I had expected them to be ice-cold just like his eyes.

"Um...Kyoya? About yesterday..." I mentally slapped myself when my mouth spoke by itself.

"Hm?" I heard him say.

"Uh...er...n-nevermind..." My face felt like it was around a thousand degrees, and embarrassment plagued me once more. I felt even more aware of his hand in mine, further fueling my burning face. Kyoya didn't say anything afterwards. I'm sure he's just as confused about yesterday as I was.

We walked on in awkward silence until the stairs stopped, and we stood in front of a door. I felt Kyoya fumble around for the handle, and with a click it opened, revealing a room full of murky shadows. He entered, dragging me with him, and I felt around the wall for a light switch. My fingertips brushed against something cold and smooth, and so I flicked it. Light immediately blinded the room.

"Gah!" Kyoya and I both released our hands and brought it up to our burning, closed-shut eyes.

"Sorry, I should've warned you." I said while continuing to rub my eyes with the palms of my hands. I heard Kyoya mutter a chain of grumblings to himself, and I slowly looked up while opening my eyes. After my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that the room was full of pictures of...me. There were pictures of me as a child, and pictures of me when I had long hair! They were all plastered up on the walls, and some of them were framed or enlarged as posters. A wall-sized picture of me in a sailor uniform and long hair stared back at me covered with red hearts and kisses.

My mouth flew open, and I lost my ability to speak.

"Wha? Wh-Wh-WHA?!" I backed away with shaky knees. I glanced at Kyoya, who wore an equally shocked expression on his face. My eyes scanned the room again, and then I completely lost it.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" I covered my eyes from the horrific sight and curled up into a little ball.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh my eyes...my poor eyes!" Rocking back and forth, my head remained buried in my arms. I was curled up into a tiny, human ball, and I felt Kyoya's hands shaking me.

"Akari, calm down." He said.

"Oh my gosh this is every girl's nightmare...ooohhhhh." Groaning, I rolled over onto my side, switching to a fetus position. I inhaled, trying to calm myself. I felt Kyoya's hand lift off of me.

"Hm, interesting." His footsteps faded away, and I peeped up at the room again. I crinkled up my nose, but sat up straight.

"Oh...please don't look at that picture of me..." He was observing a photo of me as an eight year old. I had mud covering my face, hair, and clothes. I was smiling widely, with four of my front teeth missing.

"I haven't seen this picture before from your files..." He leaned closer to it, scrutinizing the details. I narrowed my eyes.

"So, you've seen most of the pictures here?" I stood up and placed a hand on my hip. I glared at the back of his head.

"Of course. I'm supposed to keep tabs on everyone. Besides, it's quite amusing looking through old photos of you." He turned his head at me, wearing a cocky smirk on his face. I huffed.

"Of course you would. Why am I even surprised?" I grimaced as my eyes scanned the room's walls.

"I think you look rather nice with long hair." Kyoya commented. I shrugged, forcing down a rising blush.

"People still thought I was a guy. Is it because my eyes are sharper than other girls?" I arched an eyebrow while looking at the huge poster of me in a sailor uniform. I cringed when I read over some writing saying "I love you."

"He has an unhealthy obsession for you." Kyoya picked up a picture of frame of me as an infant.

"How did he get these pictures in the first place?" I threw my hands up in the air.

"Oh it was easy really. I just hired a couple of hackers!" A sing song voice said. I jumped a bit while whipping towards the voice. I squeaked and retreated behind Kyoya when I saw Erai looking at me with hearts in his eyes.

"You! You're creepy!" I pointed a shaky finger at him and then hid behind Kyoya all the way. I heard Erai chuckle dryly.

"Yukimura." Kyoya crossed his arms. Even without looking, I could tell he was wearing his "business smile."

"Ootori." Erai sighed.

"I see you've taken interest in my fiance. Too bad she'll be mine on Monday." My eyebrows furrowed together, and I jumped out from behind Kyoya.

"What are you talking about!? I'll never marry some creep like you!" Erai smirked.

"Yes you would. If you had to save your family and friends, of course." I froze.

"What?" I said. Erai sighed.

"Your friends are real idiots." He pulled out a cell phone, and showed us a picture. I gasped when I saw Tamaki, the twins, Haruhi, Haku, Osamu, and father all tied up in a dark room.

"What about Mori and Honey senpai?" I scrunched up my eyebrows. Erai smirked.

"Oh them? We shot animal tranquilizers at them." My eyes widened.

"You what?!"

"They're unconscious at the moment, but I believe my men are tying them up with metal chains. They will be loaded onto a truck and shipped away to Mexico." I clenched my teeth and fists.

"Why you-" Kyoya held an arm out in front of me, cutting me off. I turned my head, and my anger vanished. Goosebumps appeared and covered my entire body. I let out a pathetic squeak while jumping away from him. Murky shadows danced around Kyoya, dampening the air around us. A dark rage loomed over his facial features, contorting them. He narrowed his eyes into sharp slits that looked up from his deeply creased eyebrows. He looked like a savage beast ready to devour it's prey and his eyes glimmered with poison, ready to kill. He made no effort whatsoever to conceal the fire of rage that burned inside of him.

"I'm afraid you've made a horrible mistake, Erai. " His voice was two octaves lower than usual, and a faint growling lurked behind it. It sent chills down my spine, and the calm manner he spoke in only petrified me even more. I glanced back at Erai, who quivered a bit while smiling still.

"Don't be silly, there's nothing you can do at the moment anyway. There's no cell phone connection here, and all your friends are locked up. Including the human weapons." Erai cleared his throat, and uncertainty dripped from his voice. Kyoya chuckled, his voice deep and rumbling. It sounded dry, and it bounced off the walls. My knees were knocking against each other, and my teeth were chattering. I pressed up against the furthest corner, away from Kyoya. Erai squeaked a bit, but coughed to cover it up.

"Desça!"  
 _Come down!_

Erai called up to the stairs, and almost instantly a huge group of gangsters rushed down. They all were buff, and they had worn, hard faces. I tensed up, and pressed up further into the corner. Kyoya on the other hand, straightened his back.

"Colocá-lo com os outros."  
 _Put him with the others._

Erai pointed at Kyoya, who turned his head to look at me with a softer expression.

"She will be coming with me." He said in Japanese.

"What? Why?!" I said. Two, burly men approached me with their arms up, making sure that I wouldn't escape.

"We need to discuss our wedding plans of course!" Erai winked at me, and a sick feeling churned in my stomach. I gagged.

"Oh boy, I think I'm gonna be sick."Bending over, I took in deep breaths to calm myself.

"Don't touch me." I jerked my head up. Kyoya stepped away from a rat-like man who reached for him. Erai snapped his fingers, and three men lunged towards Kyoya. Two, muscular men grabbed hold of his arms. The third, skinny man reached for Kyoya's pants pocket, snatched his cellphone, then snapped it in two. I heard a slight growl coming from the back of Kyoya's throat.

"Ir."  
 _Go._

Erai waved a hand at the men holding onto Kyoya, and they started dragging him away. Kyoya shot me a look, as if he was telling me not to worry. I nodded, and he soon disappeared up the steps. I shot a glare at Erai, who sighed dreamily while looking at me.

"Come now darling, let's discuss our wedding plans." He took hold of my hand, and my jaw dropped. I twisted away from him, pressing myself further against the wall.

"If you touch me with your filthy hands again, I will scratch your eyes out!" Erai only chuckled, and I groaned. Oh yay, I get to spend time with some wacko who has all my friends and family locked up.


	18. Chapter 18

"We should have three kids, and their names will be Yuki, Yuuki, and Yuu. I want the girl to look like me but the boy should look like you."

I sighed and leaned back on the car seat, while turning my head towards the window. My hands and feet were tied up with thick, scratchy ropes. In the driver's seat right next to me, Eriai's voice rose and fell in a series of rushed ramblings. His words tumbled out sounding like jittery nonsense. I shut out his annoying chatter, and only heard the pounding of my beating heart in my ears.

We were driving to who knows where, and there was nothing I could do. Honey and Mori senpai were probably locked in that truck Erai mentioned. Now is probably the time when they would regain consciousness, but...It's already been two hours. They're too far from us now. Even if they're the deadliest fighters in all Japan, they're still human. Metal chains isn't something anyone could break out of, and I have no idea if they'll be alright or not. As for the others, they're locked up in what I think is a basement of some sort.

"Hey Akari, you belong to me now. You're my permanent toy." I heard a voice say. I blinked, and turned my head towards the source of it. Erai was looking straight ahead at the road, his eyes narrowed. Boiling heat washed over me, and I clenched my fists while tearing my eyes off of him. I grit my teeth, keeping silent.

"You think this is some kind of joke, huh?" He said in a low voice. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. The love-struck expression that had been lining his features for the past two hours now had disappeared. His sharp eyes flicked onto me, burning with an emotion I couldn't name. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Still, I held my tongue and ignored his question.

Silence hovered in the car, building up with each passing second.

"If you don't want your friends to be sold off as human slaves, then I suggest that you cooperate." He said. I widened my eyes, and whipped my head around. I opened my mouth to say something, but I shut it again. Erai noticed, and sighed.

"I suppose you don't believe me. Well then..." He slammed his foot onto the pedal, and the car lurched forward from the sudden burst of speed. I gasped, and my body jerked. The seat belt strapped to me kept me from flying through the windshield, but it dug into my collarbone.

An image of my mother flashed across my mind. I gasped again, and my breath hitched.

 _"Mommy, let's pretend we're racing!" I said while squeezing Curry. A warm smile slipped up onto her face. She sat in the driver's seat, her eyes still trained on the road in front of her._

 _"Okay! Fasten your seat belts everyone, we're going to enter the world race!" Mother glanced into the mirror. The reflection of Arashi's monotone face stared back. We had just left the grocery store, and he was in charge of making sure the bags didn't topple over on our way home. He slightly frowned._

 _"Please don't exceed the speed limit." He said. Mother laughed._

 _"It's okay hun, we're on the highway. And besides, it'll be fun!" Her grin widened, and she stepped on the pedal._

"Stop..." I breathed out. My voice was drowned out from the sound of wind rushing outside.

"Oh, so now you decide to talk?" Erai said rather calmly. A pit formed in my stomach. It rose up to my chest, and something clenched my heart. Cold beads of sweat broke out on my forehead, and my breathing became sharp gasps.

"Stop." A slight quivering possessed my body, leaving me light headed.

"What was that dearest? I couldn't hear you." He said.

"Stop!" My voice cracked. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Why should I listen to you? You haven't been listening to me this whole time." His foot slammed into the pedal, and the sound of the thundering engine multiplied.

 _A screech of tires scratched against the pavement, and a series of blaring honks raked my ear drums. Mother's shriek sliced through the air._

i screamed and I buried my head into my tied hands. Bloody images of shattered glass and mother's empty eyes flashed in my mind, searing them into my brain. The long buried nightmares that I believed that I had forgotten burned into my memory once again.

 _"Mom?" I croaked. I felt sleepy. A thick fog filled my head. Where am I? My eyes opened. Glass. Glass was everywhere. Darkness engulfed everything, leaving shadows that danced and flickered. I turned my heads towards the driver's seat. Mom's face was turned away from me._

 _"Mom!" All fogginess lifted at once. Frantically, my eyes flicked around. In the backseat, the grocery's were askew, and on the roof of the car. My eyes widened. I whipped my head towards the window, and saw that I was only inches from the cement ground of the road._

"No!" My lips and voice shook hysterically, and I couldn't control it. I scratched and pulled at my scalp and hair. My hand brushed against my face, and I felt something warm and wet. I opened my eyes. There was a drop of water resting on the back of my hand. My vision blurred, and I shut my eyes once again.

"Aw, little Akari's scared. How cute." Erai snickered. I rocked back and forth while trying to stifle my gasps and sobs.

"What's the matter? Are you scared of having a little fun?" I heard his foot stomp again.

 _I shook mother's still form, and her head lolled towards me. Her eyes were dark pits, and her skin was pure white. A small, trickle of black blood oozed down from a gash on her forehead. I screamed and ripped my hand away from her._

"Please."I whispered.

 _"Akari?" Arashi's said. His voice was a hoarse whisper. I didn't dare look up. I had curled up into a tight ball, rocking back and forth, back and forth._

 _"Mom?" A rustle of plastic bags._

 _"Mom!" He gasped. Another rustle of bags. Then silence._

"Do you understand that I'm not playing anymore?" Erai's voice said. My eyes fluttered opened. A blurry image of my knees came into view. I slowly sat up, and looked at him. Erai's gaze was fixed on the road ahead of him. My eyes flickered to the speed meter. The sound of the engine was subdued, barely audible. There weren't any sounds of screeching tires or honks anymore, and we drove behind a red car. I let out a shaky breath before leaning back. My head rolled over towards the window, and I squeezed my eyes shut again. Another spell of silence fell in the car. It was broken a while afterwards, when my heart didn't pound in my ears anymore.

"I've never seen you cry before." He said.

I didn't look at him. The tear streaks from earlier had dried up, leaving some parts of my face cold and tight.

"Aren't you even curious on where we're going?" He asked. I didn't move. A white car rushed by from my window. After about five seconds, I spoke up.

"You wouldn't tell me anyway." I murmured. A dry chuckle filled the air.

"True. You know Akari, I don't know why...but I've always been obsessed with you." Shivers crawled down my spine. A dark tone lurked behind his honeyed voice.

"I don't know why...but I always felt so...infuriated whenever I saw you talk to anyone else." He laughed. Widening my eyes, I slowly turned to look at him. His irises were smaller than usual, and a wide grin stretched from ear to ear. A murky shadow veiled his face, accentuating the whites of his eyes. He turned his head to face me, and laughed like a clown again. I gasped and leaned closer to the door, my heart starting to pound once again.

"W-what do you mean?" I said. His laughter died down, but his crazed eyes continued burning into my own.

"Ever wondered why all the boys avoided you in the orphanage?" He asked. I scrunched up my eyebrows.

"Wasn't it because I was a rowdy child?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Nope!" I said nothing, awaiting his answer. After a moment, he spoke up again.

"I threatened them!" He said in a sing song voice.

"I told them if they even looked at you in a way that I didn't like, I would break their fingers. One, by, one." He threw his head back, roaring with laughter. Cold sweat broke out again.

"I kept all the girls away from you by charming them. They were such dimwits." He cackled once again. I clenched my fist, and turned away from him.

"Your science friend though...I never noticed her until it was too late." His laughter vanished instantly, and a grim look contorted his features. A chilling calmness settled around him.

"It took forever tearing the two of you apart." My jaw tightened. I started trembling.

"But then...right before you were all mine...You left for Japan. That was your huge mistake." His words trailed off. I glimpsed at him from the corner of my eyes.

"Once we're married, no one will ever see or hear from you again. You'll just be my living doll. My perfect, living doll..." His words faded away into soft whispers, and he turned his head to look at me. A small, sweet smile graced his features, sending more chills down my arms. He brought his hand to my face, and my heart stopped. My eyes widened with each second as his hand inched closer and closer to my face. I was already pressed up as farthest as I could go against my door. The skin from the back of his hand brushed against me, and I shut my eyes and suppressed a gasp. I always thought of Erai as an annoying, clingy, wacko. But that wasn't the case at all. He's mentally unstable, and he needs help.

He moved his hand away, but I kept my eyes shut. I heard him shuffle around, then I felt a wet cloth press up against my mouth. My eyes flew open for a second, but they drooped shut as blackness consumed me.

* * *

I don't know for how long I slept, but when I woke up I was in a bedroom. Jerking upright, my eyes jumped around the dark room. I was no longer tied up, and Erai was nowhere in sight. I threw myself off of the bed I had been on, and ran towards the murky outline of a door. I rattled the doorknob.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?!" I said.

"Anyone?!" I hurled myself at the door, hoping to break it down. Soreness slapped onto my shoulder that I had used to slam against it.

"Ow..." I rubbed my arm while scanning the room once again. Suddenly, bright lights came on and blinded me.

"Gah!" I squeezed my eyes shut and brought my hand to them.

"Good morning dearest!" I heard a voice say. I glanced up, squinting to adjust to the light.

"Did you sleep well?" I heard slight noise in the voice, which came out from an intercom.

"Hey! Where am I?" My eyes landed on a black camera staring right at me, and I glared into its red lens.

"In a bedroom of course. To be precise, your bedroom." I scrunched up my eyebrows and crinkled up my nose.

"Huh?" I glanced around. I've never been here before in my entire life.

"You'll be spending the rest of your miserable life right in this room! Isn't that wonderful?" Erai's voice sang. My knees shook, and all energy drained from me.

"No..." I tottered backwards, and landed on my bum.

"Anyways, someone will be coming in tomorrow morning to take your measurements." He continued speaking. I scrunched up my eyebrows while wrapping my arms around my legs.

"Why?" I said.

"So your wedding dress would fit!" He said in a sing-song voice. My eyes widened, and my head shot up towards the camera again.

"If you don't marry me, then your friends become slaves. Simple eh?" He chuckled, and a pit formed in my stomach. Nauseous, I squeezed my eyes shut and brought a hand to my head.

"Well darling, I'll have to get going now. And welcome to your new home! You better like it, because you're never going to leave it." His voice cut off, and silence swept across the room. My eyes flew open, and my head jerked up. Blood pounding in my ears, I stood upright. My heart hurled itself against my chest. Scanning the room for windows, my stomach sank when I found none. There also weren't any air vents. I spotted another door that was open. I threw my body forward, pumping my legs up and down. I slammed my hands against the door frame to prevent myself from crashing to the ground, and my eyes flicked around the room. There was a sink, shower, and a toilet. No windows. A trembling possessed my body, and something warm emerged from my stomach. Gagging, I stumbled towards the toilet and leaned over. Bitter, acidic vomit spurted out from my mouth, leaving a burning sensation at the back of my throat. My eyes shut, and my body heaved out the breakfast I had eaten that morning.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Yeah yeah, I know. I haven't been updating. But hey! I got at least one chapter uploaded...right? Haha...please don't hurt me I'm very sorry...*backs away***_

* * *

"Open wide!" I was sitting in a chair. The same, thick ropes from two days ago were bound around my arms and legs. Erai sat across from me with a bowl of cereal in one hand, and a spoon in another. I crinkled my nose and stuck my head away from him.

"No." I eyed the spoonful distastefully, as if it was poisoned. Erai's eyes narrowed, but his smile didn't falter.

"Akari darling, do as I say or else." He gave me a closed-eye smile. I gagged, and focused my gaze on his head full of long, ugly, red hair.

"I don't find anything attractive about you." I said.

"Oh that doesn't matter. You're just a toy after all. My precious little possession... Now, eat this." He said. A rumbling growl that sounded like a thunderstorm vibrated from my stomach. I turned red, but said nothing and stuck my chin higher in the air. I turned my head further away from him and the cereal he was trying to spoon feed me.

It's the second day, and I'm still trapped. I didn't see anyone at all yesterday, unless Erai's voice over the intercom counts. I was given no food or water, and this morning I woke up tied up and in a chair. Erai is getting creepier by the minute, and I think Honey senpai and Mori senpai are human slaves by now. My stomach dropped, and a pit formed inside of it. Even if they're the top marital artists in all of the Japan, or the world...They're still human.

"Akari." He stood from his chair, and stuck the spoon back into the bowl. He walked over towards me, and gently placed his hand on my chin. He turned my face towards him, and my eyes met his.

A dull, glass-like look glazed over his brown eyes. They were like empty pits, an abyss of vacancy. There were no feelings that swam inside of them, no life, and no thoughts. His stiff smile remained in place, resembling the painted lips of a wooden doll. A dark shadow was casted over his face from his long bangs. My eyes widened and my blood pounded in my ears. My eyebrows furrowed together, and I twisted away from his hand.

"Don't touch me!" I whipped my head away again from his dead eyes, and squeezed mine shut. A sigh from Erai.

"Akari." He said once more. He once again placed his hand under my chin and turned my face towards him. When he was about to withdraw it from me, I opened my mouth and sank my teeth into his pointer finger.

"Gah!" He ripped his hand away from me, and his blank face shriveled up. His eyebrows snapped together and his eyes narrowed into sharp slits. While shaking out his hand, he fixed his glare on me, and his eyes burned into mine. In one, swift motion, he stepped towards me roughly grabbed my face with his icy fingers. I winced and took in a sharp breath, but Erai's raspy whisper momentarily distracted me from the pain.

"I've had countless, worthless women who've thrown themselves at my feet. I could've gone for some dumb, pretty gold digger but no...I chose you. And you should feel grateful that I did." He spat.

"Let go!" I tried pulling my head away from him, but his grip on my face tightened, and I whimpered. He leaned closer to me, and I could only focus on his fingers that continued digging into my skin. I felt bruises forming, and I bit my lower lip to stop it from quivering.

"I own you now." His smile was now mad grin, and a slight twitch disturbed the right corner of his mouth. His eyes almost seemed blood-red, even though they were brown. They flickered and churned like glowing embers that threatened to spark a forest fire.

"Please...let go..." My voice cracked. I felt as small as my voice. I lowered my gaze, and Erai's fingers loosened their grip. Where his fingers had been were numb, and I knew without looking that they were brown and blue.

"Now, are you going to eat? Or not?" The dead look returned to his eyes once more, and the joker grin was replaced with the small, stiff smile from before. His face had changed instantly once again, as if he was just slipping on a different mask. I turned my face away while lowering it to the ground.

"Can't I feed myself?" I said in a quiet voice. He grabbed my face again and turned it towards him.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" His smile turned into a wide grin.

"N-nothing!"

"Good."

He spoon-fed me until there was no more cereal left in the bowl.

* * *

An old woman walked in, and she had measuring tape, a clipboard, and a pencil with her. Her eyes never left her clipboard, but she spoke out to me.

"I'm here to take measurements for..." She adjusted her reading glasses, and squinted her eyes at the clipboard. She spoke perfect English.

"Akari?" She said. Her white hair was in a short pixie, and she had bright blue eyes. I was still sitting on the chair. Before I could nod or respond, Erai appeared at the door.

"Heavens!" She exclaimed while jumping away from him.

"Hello Mrs. Green. May I speak with you for a moment?" He asked with a smile. Her eyes finally landed on me, and they lit up with alarm.

"Oh my! Why is that boy all tied up?!" She asked while pointing a shaky finger at me. Erai's smile remained fixed in place, and he placed a hand on her shoulder while shutting the door behind him.

"First of all, that's my future wife. Secondly, you are not to say anything to anyone about this. Are we clear?" He said. She scrunched up her eyebrows. Before she could open her mouth to protest, Erai whipped out a large stack of hard cash from his pocket. The one-hundred dollar bills were tied together with a rubber band. Mrs. Green's eyes widened.

"W-what?"

"Just keep silent and all this will be yours. And if you don't, I'll have no choice but to send my army of Brazilian gang members after you. Kay?" He tilted his head to the side while giving her a saccharine smile. The woman's gaze fell back onto the money he dangled in front of her face. Her face hardened, and she sighed.

"A-alright..." She said.

"Good." He stuffed the cash back into his pocket and handed her a knife.

"Untie her with this and take her measurements. And Akari," he glanced at me.

"There will be three men outside this door. Don't try anything." He dropped the knife on the ground, and turned on his heel. He left the room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. The woman bent down and picked the weapon up, while muttering to herself in low whispers.

"Young people these days..." Was all I heard when she made her way over to me.

"Hold your hands out dearie." She said. I obeyed, and she looked at the knife at all angles, her eyebrows scrunching together and her lip pouting.

"How did that young man keep this in his pocket?" She asked. The kitchen knife was as long as her forearm, and the sharp blade gleamed a bit from the light. I shrugged.

"Men's pants are magical?" I said. The woman arched her eyebrow, and one side of her lips turned upwards. Her smile fell when her eyes landed on the small bruises on my face from where Erai's fingertips had dug into from before.

"Did you get in a fight with your future husband?" She started sawing through the ropes and avoiding my skin.

"Sort've."

"Is he the leader of the Cobras? They're one of the most dangerous gang group in South America." She said.

"I don't know...But what I do know is that he has issues. A lot, actually..." I mumbled under my breath. She didn't answer, and soon my wrists were free. Where the ropes had been left red marks on my skin, and I rubbed them while Mrs. Green started working on the ropes around my ankles.

"I'm assuming you've done stuff like this before?" I asked.

"N-no!" She looked at me with wide eyes.

"I've-never-made-wedding-dresses-for-gang-members-and-criminals-what-are-you-talking-about!" Her eyes wildly darted from side to side.

"Right..."

Silence. She cut my legs free, and told me to stand. She took a lot of my measurements, wrote them down, and she didn't speak much. The whole time, she never looked up at my face.

Soon, she finished and was about to leave.

"I'll be back tomorrow with the dress." She said while turning around. The door opened, revealing Erai with the money in his hand.

"Here you go. And remember, don't tell anyone about this or else. I'll give you another batch tomorrow when you deliver the dress." He gave her a closed-eye smile.

"Of course." She snatched it from his hands, and walked away. Erai's eyes met mine, and he smirked. I frowned, and turned my face away.

"I'll come back later for dinner. Smile dear, we're getting married." With another smile, he shut the door. I drew my hand up to my lips, and stared chewing on the nails. Frantically, I staring pacing across the room, back and forth, back and forth...

The only way out was through that door, and the only way to get out is to gain Erai's trust. I don't know how long I continued pacing back and forth, but soon I found myself lightly banging my head on one of the walls.

 _It's not like I can outsmart him..._

I froze.

 _Why not pretend that I'm actually in love with him?_

There's only a slim chance that he will believe me. Erai is no idiot, and so if I really want to fool him, I gotta be the perfect liar. I can't jus run away...I have to somehow convince Erai that I'm actually in love with him and find out where he locked everyone. If I fail, than Kyoya and the others won't be alright. I sat down on the bed.

Kyoya always had dark bags under his eyes, and he would always be scrawling something down in his notebook or typing something into his laptop. His eyebrows always creased together when he was concentrating on something, and he had a habit of pushing up his glasses from the center, just like how the stereotypical nerds do on T.V shows. I smirked at the thought of telling Kyoya that, and him narrowing his onyx eyes at me.

 _Is he alright?_

I squeezed my eyes shut. Probably...I'm sure Erai won't kill them...right?

 _Did he eat yet?_

Sighing, I laid down on the bed, sprawling my arms above my head. My eyelids started drooping. I didn't sleep at all last night. All I did was pace back and forth across the room.

* * *

 _ **If there are a lot of typos, I'm sorry. It's 9:45 the week before finals and I am procrastinating. And tired. And I want ice cream.**_


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